Cameron's redemption & the saving of Sarah
by KevinInEngland
Summary: Cameron has begun getting Allison's emotions because of the jeep explosion - she is concerned for John's wellbeing, plus other issues and does some things that could be considered very cyborg-like.
1. Chapter 1

**I am happy to write this because I know many fans of TSCC will fear that a time will come when people stop writing on this subject.**

**If you like to enter another world with your thoughts to escape from the staid masses, then perhaps this is for you. I have tried to use as much fact as possible from real life.**

**I welcome any kind of comments and helpful criticism, especially from the computer guys and all the 'clever clogs' out there.**

**By the way, I recently found the use of a new word to me but obviously well-known in America. Shows like Angel, Buffy are 'chic-flicks' - I suppose in England it would be called a 'bird-flick'. Just my joke but why poultry should be suggested is beyond me LOL.**

#_#_#

Going back in time to Catherine Weaver's final statements to Mr Walsh after he purchased the turk for her, she mentioned that When we look close at humans, you never know what they will do. Then she said she wanted a computer that would act in the same way. In other words go beyond just programming and think for itself. This was later pointed out by Matt Murch when he said to Ms Weaver that by disassembling the entire John Henry mainframe AI system and moving it elsewhere could actually change John Henry intricately in ways that they could not envisage - "just a single wire being changed" as he put it.

Bearing this in mind, this is how my story takes effect... the word 'effect' meaning 'the butterfly effect' in this possibility as it appears Derek met his Jesse in the present from a different reality caused by a change that was made in the present (the famous words 'no fate' which Sarah spoke and is familiar to us fans).

Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles, episode 7 - The Demon Hand.

Cameron never forgets anything but perhaps some things are worth forgetting, like repetitive trips to the corner store to get some simple provisions. She will remember the journey & how to get there, where things are located... perhaps but not 'absolutely' everything !

So, what should she remember and why? For a start, she must prioritize things like we humans do. It can be assumed that her priorities are tagged like...

0 = huh, forget it !

5 = need to remember this but delete it after 1 week, for example: "don't act like a freak" (I am jesting here, that definitely gets a 10 even when not reverting to infiltration mode).

John's safety is of the utmost importance. This does not have a priority, it is like 100% at all times and out prioritises everything. So, now that Cameron is a learning computer, she is realising that John's safety is affected by his environment. Riley is a threat, Derek might be a threat - although unwittingly. Sarah can be a threat. All 3 are a threat to John if they are attacked or captured or badly injured or dying.

Sarah might die of cancer in the near future, perhaps it will be slow. This is definitely a threat to John - the longer she is ill and the worse she gets, the worse a threat he will face, both emotionally and physically but also being tied to a location and slowed down.

Now is the time to act. "I cannot kill her and if I get her killed, he might blame me" "I should not have thoughts like this because John would hate me for it". "There is only one thing I can do and it will be risky but fortunately there is not any foreseeable danger. If everything goes to plan I will be back without him missing me". "He will be alone for a long time in his reality and in mine too but after my mission is accomplished he will not even know I was away. I am 99% sure he will be much happier".

My story begins; this chapter is from Cameron's point of view (unless paragraphs are in brackets).

John & I go to the local drug store to buy essential equipment and vitamin pills for Sarah – she has taken pills ever since I have known her. After that we will need drugs which cannot be obtained from this store without arousing suspicion. This will be my mission at approximately 3am when there are not many people about. As we approach the store I do not change my persona because I am not here to kill anybody. My programming only requires infiltration mode when I am entering the domain of a human who must not know what my motives are – this is a higher priority. When I am with John, all my processes are assigned to keeping him safe which means I use my terminator programming at all times. I am learning to interlay human characteristics but each and every one is different and finding a common ground to appear normal to them is very difficult.

John says to me, try to act normal, 'don't be a freak'. He says this a lot and my learning of human emotions tells me that this is hurtful. If he loved me he would not say it this way and try to 'soften the blow' as they say and explain to me that I still need to practice acting more humanlike. I have learnt from watching TV with headphones at night that when a man says hurtful things to a woman, she gets upset and cries or is hurt in other emotional ways.

I don't want John to say these things to me but I am sure he always will because I will never be human. He cannot accept this, I can sense this many times. I know he cares about my welfare but can never accept me as I am. I can see that when Sarah is in the vicinity he is even more guarded & Derek is constantly attacking me verbally whether John is there or not. There is only one thing I can do, it will make John happy and then he will be safer and I can guard him better.

Later tonight I make my usual visit to the public library and records office with my donuts. Eric is no longer there, I have befriended a young lady who looks approximately the age of my appearance or perhaps a year or 2 older. I tell her I need to find the documentation relating to the building of the Security Trust of Los Angeles which was opened on March 17th 1963. I lie to her when she asks me why and say that I am doing a college course on this bank which was blown up and destroyed on 9.10.1999. I am in infiltration mode and use my coercion skills using her enthusiastic outlook to assist me in my investigation. I ask her to look for all names, supply companies, any companies that were involved. The person I require will be a female approximately 28 years of age.

As my time at the library is coming to an end for this night, approximately 6am, Sophie tells me that she did find a lady by the name of Jenny Bond. She was responsible for installing the locks on all of the safe deposit boxes in the basement and the locking system on the safe door and had a team working under her. This tells me that she has access to the bank under construction out of hours.

I continue my work unaided whilst Sophie is having her break. I find a record of Jenny with her photo ID which I scan. Obtaining software that shows what she looks like in 2009, 45 years later is not a problem for me, although her facial bone structure is my main interest.

Now that Eric is no longer here I assume he either died of bone leukemia or committed suicide. Whilst he was here he told me in his own words "there is an awesome site named Ancestry dot com, which can be used to trace relatives" – I have his login password. I will use this method first to try and trace anybody that thinks they are related to Jenny Bond through marriage. The original Jenny Bond has the name Jennifer Louise Beal and was born on July 11 1999 her mother survived J-Day but died later. Ancestry also offer a DNA testing facility to trace relatives but there is nothing recorded for them. There are 7 recorded marriages after 1963 which need to be checked although it is unlikely that she would officially marry for her own safety's sake.

Searching the records takes a very long time but as I am going through a family tree, I find the name Victoria James married Garrett Beal in 1997. A child Richard Benjamin Beal 8 1998 & Jennifer Louise Beal 11 1999 – This is the original Jenny & it is possible that senior identical Jenny has made contact with the family anonymously out of affection for her younger self & family's financial wellbeing. In the future Jenny was very kind-hearted to the orphans in the tunnels when she escaped from the clutches of Skynet, which means she would probably be the same in this time & she would need to keep off the radar, as the humans say. She might not marry and therefore devote her time or resources to her own family.

The online address finder locates them straight away. When I get home, I will give my excuses to John/Sarah that the reserve ammunition is getting low at the safe storage and go to Texas to speak to Victoria.

When I get to their residence in Texas, a small boy answers the door. I ask for his mother. At this point a small girl comes to the door and I find a cranial match with her. When the mother arrives, she is saying to the children that they should not answer the door," how many times must I tell you?"

I smile & say that I am a friend of the woman who sends them gifts anonymously and she is 60 years of age and has become ill and wanted me to bring these presents.

I have bought 2 presents for the children, which were chosen by the shop assistant at toys-r-us.

I am invited in which tells me that my theory is correct.

I tell her some things about their mysterious donor, and how she invited me to live with her when I told her I dance at the school nearby.

This is a good talking point.

Victoria appeared to be very happy that I had visited her, and asked me what I was told about the reason why she sent the money.

I told her that she never told me, but I believe it is because she is related to you through your mother's Aunt, as she mentions her sometimes, but I cannot be sure, or perhaps the reason is different.

Victoria said the bank statement only says 'close relation'.

I asked her how often she gets the gifts, because I was led to believe it was every 3 months, as my friend was not very rich and always spent all her money on gifts.

She explained that they received a sum of money in to their bank account every week, which paid for all their food and childrens' toys.

I asked if they had a photo of their benefactor but was told no. I promised to bring one if she would allow me to come again.

"Of course you can, I will make sure Garrett is here next time", she said.

I asked Victoria if she had a group photo that I could take back to my friend, as this would make her very happy.

"I'll go upstairs and see if I can find one", she said, "please wait whilst I have a look, then I will scan it." –

Jennifer follows her, gleefully tugging on her dress.

I spoke to Richard and asked him whether his father used a computer at home to play games on.

Richard said "no silly, he does his work on it", as he points to the other room.

I asked Richard to go upstairs and ask Mom of she had anything else that I could take back with me for my friend. (If he had not gone, I would have waited outside until the house was empty and then break in. My mission was too important to fail).

I quickly attach a data recorder male-female between the vdu connection & the desktop PC.

After a while and lots of lies about why she sends money to them, I say that my time is taken up by other things and thank her for her hospitality.

Then I say goodbye to the children as I walk down their path between the standard roses, which are red one side and yellow the other.

Now all I do is wait.

8 Days have passed, this time I use the excuse that the radiator on our SUV has a slow leak and might have damaged the engine. I will take it to the professional men at the garage to assess it.

John accepts my excuse and I leave but not before I tell him that I love him.

He looks at me with the same weird face expression which signifies to me that he thinks I am using an infiltration mode tactic and that I do not mean it.

He replies by saying, "please Cam, don't say things like that, it is not something that I can believe – we have been through this before – the jeep incident has damaged you".

His reply hurts me in my own way, and as my learning sensitivity increases it becomes all the more painful. My plan of action is all I can do. He will never love me or have any kind of feelings for me. I am just a machine and therefore must remain that way in his eyes. I cannot feel anything for anybody else, my programming has seen to that, so I will see him happy in his life and be happy to see him happy.

Soon, I am on my way to Texas and should be there in an hour. I scan the radio stations and nothing unusual is said.

I text John and advise him that they are not busy and will do the necessary work immediately, as I promised to give them a good fee. I tell him the engine is undamaged, to keep his mind untroubled.

When I arrive, nobody answers the door because the time is 2:45 & Victoria will be fetching the children from school, this was my plan. I can go around the back and force the door open and retrieve the data recorder.

When I get home, I park the SUV 2 blocks away from Sarah's house next to another similar vehicle. I walk home and tell John that I can collect the vehicle tomorrow after 4pm with a guarantee that it will be finished.

That night, I find the information is useful, it shows all Garrett's key-strokes which include passwords etc. Some of the information shows that he likes to see humans procreating – this is quite popular with this species, yet John does not find me attractive, despite me looking like a pretty girl.

The next day, I phone his bank using a male voice, then give my password details, date of birth etc. and ask them if they can provide information on the source bank for the payment details: RELATION GIFT. All they can say is that the bank is Wells Fargo and the BIC 2617-09834 which is Little Rock AK.

I thank them for their assistance and say that there is not anything else they can help me with.

#_#_#

Early morning, today is the day that a deposit will be made at the bank for transferring to Garrett Beal. It is 3am & I am still driving to AK after doing my usual surveillance of the Connor area to ensure that all is OK. I need to be at the bank before it opens. On my way I detour through a small town and search for a veterinary establishment.

I drive to a dark place outside of town and park my SUV, steal a nearby hatchback and drive to the Veterinary surgery and park outside. I have donned a jacket with a large hood to hide my identity and go around the back and break in – bypassing the burglar security is overcome by breaking off roof tiles and entering that way.

I find the required safe and prize it out of the wall with semtex, throw it through the window glass, jump out and carry it to the stolen vehicle and put it in the back and drive off. Lastly I transfer it to my SUV and continue on my journey.

I wait outside the bank (I cannot go inside, it will arouse suspicion). I hold a cardboard banner facing people as they enter. It says 'J-Day Apr 19 2011 Jenny Bond - JC needs your help – hang in there'. I scan all faces but do not find a match. Suddenly a car pulls up, a face that I saw earlier shouts to me, "Are you Cameron Phillips?" "Yes" I say. "Come quickly, Jenny will see you".

I get in my vehicle and follow him quickly as he has already pulled away. We drive until we reach a long dirt track leading up to a well maintained house

When we arrive he shows me in and I sit as requested. He says that Jenny wondered if she would be contacted. The driver says he is her gardener and goes to the bank every week for her. He feels honored now she is old she trusts him.

A short while later I am greeted by a lady, she is a match to Jennifer. "Hello Cameron, Why have you come to see me?" (She has a concerned look on her face).

I reply by saying, "I need to go to the future to fetch somebody who can help John, and I also need some Skynet technology in order to save a person's life".

Jenny tells me that she always watches the news on TV or listens to it on the Radio and knew that I was responsible for the bank explosion.

Ricardo asks me if I would like a drink. Jenny butts in and says that I do not need one.

This is greeted by a puzzled look from him.

Jenny tells him that from now on there will be a lot of very strange things that befall him and that from this point his trust and promise to not say anything to anyone is important – she even tells him that his life could depend on it.

Jenny says "The bank blew up in 1999, I guessed you would have survived – how is John?"

I say to her that he is OK but I am concerned about his wellbeing.

Jenny says "I had a feeling this day would come but I never believed it would take so long. I knew that if I made a regular payment to my father, one day you might be the person to find me".

"How old is your father?" asks Ricardo,

"29 I reply".

Ricardo opens his mouth but before he speaks Jenny says, "It's true and soon you will understand, please listen. John bestowed his trust in me to build the TDE here in your time, and I am very very grateful to him for this. I took steps to create a backup if needed. I did not construct another TDE but myself & Ricardo have obtained all the necessary parts to construct another one. The instructions are all coded and are known to me. Ricardo has access to another set of instructions held on duplicate usb pen flash drives which are hidden with the parts in a large storage locker underground behind this house with the original instructions on this computer." She points to it.

I ask her where she planned to build it and she told me "here".

Jenny says "I'm sure Ricardo will be happy to take you to the storage locker to see for yourself, then you can come back and I will convert my coded words & symbols for you to remember".

Ricardo goes out the back and starts to dig the sandy soil away until a metal plate is revealed. He goes to get a lifting bar but I save him the time by lifting it and placing it against the wall.

He gives me a strange look but says nothing. We go down the steps and he tells me that everything in this room is for the same purpose.

I look around, lift items up and scan each and every one and confirm that the main components and technological equipment seem to be intact.

We go back indoors, where Jenny is running her computer waiting for my return.

She says "There is 0.9 million pages, they contain star mapping & everything connected to quantum physics that you need. Please take a seat. In the meantime I am sure Ricardo will start bringing in the items to the right under the sign that is marked '1'. Ricardo will have my house to live in when I am gone. I did not tell him this. I have a 'will' and in it he is asked to continue making payments to my younger self for the foreseeable future, meaning that if J-day comes... you know the rest".

Ricardo says "Gracias, I am shocked Ms Bond, I never dreamed of this, I have always been very happy to receive your good wage and nice food in return for not bringing my friends back here. Cameron, I have friends and when they ask where I live, I tell them I have a Cougar of my own who does not want anybody to know her" he says laughing. Then he says "they laugh when I tell them this".

Jenny replies: "OK Ricci, I think you have revealed enough, not that Cameron is bothered... are you?"

I say 'no' but really this kind of conversation does bother me. More-so as I develop my learning skills – 'just like a child who is learning the ways of the world and reaching my teenage years', so to say.

Jenny tells me that at her age she cannot do too much so she will let me scan the documents and will help me with the assembly tomorrow. Then she says, "Ricardo will enjoy this, perhaps it will make a nice change from gardening! What we are about to do will save countless lives. So please do not question our motives Ricci".

Upon hearing this I resolve to be true to her word and hatch an extra plan which she will see when I return.

I ask Jenny if she has an oxycetylene burner to open a safe and she confirms that she does, "it was cheaper to buy one than hire it during the construction of the bunker".

I ask Ricardo if he would mind opening the safe but his response is negative. I explain that it contains medical equipment necessary to save a life, a lie but necessary for my plan to work. I tell him it is in the back of my vehicle and would he mind burying the empty safe afterwards. He goes ahead and I sit in the computer chair.

As I sit at the computer reading all the pages, Ricardo is gradually bringing the first stage items in to the room.

"Why do you keep flicking through the pages?" he asks, I tell him that I am reading them.

"if you say so senorita, I will not argue with the pretty lady".

This is a compliment that I wish John would say. Whilst I am reading, I am thinking about him and whether he does have feelings for me. It is possible that he does but even so, he has not acted on them so I think I must continue on this path making the decisions that are necessary for his safety and peace of mind. Going through the pages on this computer is slow. It is much slower than a modern machine from this era.

1 hour, 11 minutes and 4 seconds later, whilst listening to Ricardo saying many things to himself in a complaining manner and some Spanish about my anatomy, I have finished reading the documents and turn round to look at him. I say to him in Spanish "If you do any of the things I hear you say, I will tell Jenny that you are unfaithful".

He says "Jenny is not really my Cougar and how could you hear my words in Spanish? - I said them very quietly".

I reply "my guess". Even though he has a dark tan on his skin, I can still detect embarrassment so I use a nice smile and a short laugh to let him know that I am not annoyed with him because he must remain loyal to Jenny and me.

Eventually Ricci says "it is late, I am off to bed, you can use the other room upstairs with 'visitors' written on the door".

I say "thank you, I need to lie on a bed for a while".

My cellphone tells me that I have missed 35 calls – the text messages only ask where I am, so John is OK.

I go upstairs and lie down and then go in to standby mode - this will help me devote all my resources to reading the scanned documents, converting the words in to ASCII text and to transfer the diagrams in to my 3-d program. The next step is to convert the text in to machine code thus allowing me to remove the cumbersome large scanned documents.

(Whilst this is happening, Ricci tells Jenny that Cameron is lying on the bed and wants to know if she might be tired or ill. Jenny passes on her theory but after 10 minutes suggests that they check on Cameron. They go to the bedroom door and look in but curiosity gets the better of Ricci and he is compelled to have a closer look. He sits on the side of the bed despite a small frantic grab from Jenny before he got there - she stays dead quiet. As he sits, the sinking of the springs causes Cameron to move slightly. He stares at her face but sees stillness and then 10 seconds later Cameron opens her eyes, looks at him and says "Jenny trusts you" and closes her eyes).

35m4s later I begin to work through the night, I can see that the construction will probably take approximately 2 days which is good – Jenny is an immaculate planner – she has even laid on the requisite power supply necessary for generating the bubble vortex.

This morning Ricci started to stir upstairs which is greeted with a moan "not horny again, Cameron is downstairs. I often wonder why you stayed faithful to me".

Ricci replies "because you have been nicer to me than I could have expected from anybody. You might think I am ridiculous but I have lots of strong feelings for you".

Jenny replies "Oh you say these things all the time, still,,, I appreciate it. Do you know in the future I had lots of friends, many of them were young orphans, I would show them how best to cook rats".

Ricardo replied by saying, "what kind of story is that?"

"It is the truth Ricci, you will believe me sooner than you think, just remember my credentials and then question my words. I think we had better get up, Cameron will be waiting downstairs for us".

A short while later the 2 of them emerge to find a room with lots of assembled items.

Ricci says "Geez Cameron, how did you accomplish all that?"

I do not reply.

Jenny says to me "Is there anything that you need? I don't think my logistics has failed me but anything is possible".

I say "not that I am aware of but have you planned for a varying number of people?"

"Yes, it is possible to transport approximately 5 male or 6 female adults but the contents is irrelevant because air will take the place of a human, it is included in the software – flesh or air".

Ricci says "Now you have lost me".

Jenny replies "don't concern yourself at this time but please learn from observation, it might be your salvation one day. The building of this device is not necessarily for you to assist with, so please yourself what you do today but keep in phone contact Ricci, we girls still need you".

"Gracias, that is a nice thing for a man to know, I will bring back something nice for both of you".

Ricci's response is a nice response, I like it. Perhaps one day I will hear it spoken from John but will it be to me? Probably not!".

"We can construct the entire TDE in the underground bunker below the outbuilding where I found Ricci. I will stay with you and talk you through the process. The power supply is adequate out there & it is nice and dry in there".

Jenny sits in a chair and talks to me whilst I construct the equipment, occasionally getting up to show me what I need to do or doing it herself whilst I observe. Occasionally I go out the back and work my way through the items in the locker moving from 1 through to 2, then on to 3. After that there are 3 more areas to cover 4-6.

I listened to Jenny telling me about all kinds of things; her encounters with men, the day she employed Ricardo, how delighted she was when she traced her parents. She told me how she made sure that her car had tinted windows. Then told me that she sat outside her own home in the car and cried and cried sometimes, especially when she saw them coming home with the tiny children because of the fate she feared they would face.

One day her father came over to the car and walked around it. He looked at the windscreen and she sat dead still in the hope that he could not see her - she did not see any sign that he did because he shouted to Vicci that he could not see through the glass. She told me that she decided not to go back after that.

One day she found Ricci hiding in her shed and told him that he should leave. He left but the next day she came home from shopping to find all of her front garden weeded and he was mowing the lawn. From that time he has been with her ever since.

She even mentioned the time in the future when I held her down whilst the doctors & medics inserted a metal pin which was taken from a T-888 arm rod which controlled the finger movements. It was inserted up her right arm bone after it was fractured – she spoke apologetically for calling me such disgusting names – she was emotional when she spoke of this.

I will play this back later with my emotions switched on to see how I am affected.

That evening Ricci comes home, he seems very jovial and has 2 bunches of flowers in his hands – the smell of alcohol & perfume. He also has 2 carrier bags. We join him in the front room and he hands us each a bunch of flowers and says "for the maravillo senoritas, to add to the brightness of the room".

"Ricci, you are a perfect gentleman, there are not many men like you" Said Jenny.

He then said "hold on, I have some food and wine for us, I hope you are hungry?"

She says "Yes I am but perhaps you need to know at this time that Cameron never eats food and rarely drinks either. Show him your eye lights Cam, perhaps then we can stop the secrecy".

I turn my eyes blue and then red. He stands there staring and all he says is "huh, some kind of clever trick".

I realize that a knife show is necessary. I move over to the door to stop him running out and then I use the Stanley knife to slice down the side of my neck to reveal my neck piston and rod.

He shouts out loud some Spanish which is quite obscene but soon calms down when he realizes Jenny is not panicked as he has a lot of trust in her.

I explain that I am from the future, through incredulous laughs. I continue explaining that current technology could not make me until 2024, am approximately 2 years, 9 months, 4 days old and my frame is coltan alloy with modified flesh on the outside. This wound will heal up very quickly.

"Would you like a dressing?" says Jenny. "Yes, it will help to pull the wound together".

Ricci sits down and stares at me as I continue working.

Jenny says "I'm hungry Ricci, please feed us both, let us start with a nice big glass of wine. Will you join the toast Cameron?"

"Yes" I say.

I join them with their glasses of red wine, take mine, and Jenny says "let us toast to our new friend, even if she is different, she is still our friend".

Ricci says "Yes, to Cameron our new girl from the future".

Another compliment, which teaches me how humans develop affection to non-threatening acquaintances with whom they have common goals or personal attraction.

That evening they go back to bed, I can hear him from the underground bunker as their bedroom is facing the entrance, he is asking her why I never went to bed last night, followed by her truthful explanation.

I have now reached number 7 and Jenny has lived up to her standards from when she was only 28 years of age in 2027 & 1962. I know that ageing humans suffer body and memory degradation so if I was human I would be extremely pleased & proud to accomplish all the work that she has done with Ricardo's assistance.

At 7.33 am I have finished construction. They are still asleep upstairs so I cannot do any tests because humans do not like to be disturbed, it makes them grumpy – John is the example that I use. If I go upstairs to the bathroom and make a noise he tells me off.

They stir at 10am and there is not any talking, just some noises which sound like she is getting pleasure. "Do you need anything Ricci, or did you find yours whilst you were out?"

"Of course not, I am waiting for your say-so, you know I am a gentleman".

Things go quiet again... almost but still detectable with my hearing. These sounds are beginning to affect my emotions more than previously. I can turn them off but I want to learn from them even if it affects me which is strange. It seems that this part of my sentient development is harder to control – I either disable it or I am at its mercy - this is a phrase that I learnt from reading.

33 minutes later Ricci is first downstairs and he tells me that Jenny says thank you for not waking us up with tests, she will be down soon. I begin the minor testing of components and electronics.

Within 15 minutes she comes in to the room and says she is ready to observe whilst the space search is done.

Ricci looks puzzled.

She explains that they need to search through space for a weakness in its fabric in order to move unbelievable distances to find the earth in the future, using the position of the stars for plotting.

The process is unbelievably precise even to the scientists at NASA because the final stage of transfer is all dependant on finding a surface whose atomic mass is greater than that of liquid and has the atomic structure of concrete, tarmac and the like or granular like glassy sand or earthy soil.

The actual position of the highly charged field not only travels long distance,s but has it's reality throughout time whilst encapsulated in what appears to be a bubble, but could be considered to be a long tube through time, although it appears to take time to happen, it is relatively instantaneous.

The final plotting is the required place & distance of arrival from here – I can do this using a GPS tracker but in the future they do not have that luxury so it is not so exact.

Ricci replies "Really ! So what you are telling me is not science fiction. Are going to give me a demonstration?"

"Yes" says Jenny, "you are our first test model".

I walk closer to Ricci and he starts protesting and panicking.

I say "I assume you are teasing Ricci!" –

She replies, "Of course we are. Don't worry Ricci, we've not turned against you – you must know when we're joking. Cameron has frightened you. Believe me, in the future there are thousands of cyborgs far far more frightening than Cameron. Perhaps this little fright is a warning. I'm sorry Ricci, please forgive me. We'll use a joint of meat from the freezer. I believe that inserting an old hard drive inside a slice in its flesh should produce the result we need. We can send it to this destination in 1965 after I bought this house. I'll attach a message to the disc asking myself to keep this disc intact and to write the current date below the message, explaining what I am doing, then keep it in the basement indefinitely".

An hour later, the meat is set on the floor with disc and message tucked inside the big cut in the flesh. Jen says "after it has been sent, you can have the honor of retrieving it Ricci, no need for questions the proof will avail itself"

The coordinates are set and the power starts up.

I say "We all need to go outside, as this is a very dangerous process".

The usual sparks followed by a small bubble is formed and after a short while everything dies down.

"Wow, that was awesome" said Ricci but at that moment Jenny grabs hold of me and shakes.

"What's happening" says Ricci.

I say "It is OK, her memories from 1965 have altered her entire life's memory. She is adjusting to the change".

He then proceeds in to the house and we listen for telltale signs of euphoria, which were self evident by Jenny's reaction.

He comes back holding a plastic bag with the disc and a message on the side – he takes it out the bag.

He shows us the paper in his hand, "it says 14 November 1965! Now I really am impressed – are you sure this is not some kind of trick? What happened to the meat?"

Jenny asks me, "So what are your plans?"

"I plan to come back with Sarah Connor who will die within 2 years from cancer. She will be sedated, this is General Connor's orders. I act under his orders. I would like both of you to ensure that this bunker has enough power to send me back. I would like you to make it totally undetectable for decades if necessary.

If necessary, I will help you obtain a power generator that will last for c. 30 years before I go".

Jenny replies "Yes your help would be useful, I can tell you where to go. Ricci please get the large empty gas containers darling and I will go indoors and get the magic plastic of never-ending-money-supply! I'll show you where we can get a nice big hire truck, Cameron".

(Later that day, after Cameron impresses Ricci with her lifting ability during their loading of the large high voltage generator; She pushes it to the front of the truck to make way for the fuel drums, then lifting them up and on to the truck too.

Cameron had also purchased 2 large metal sheets with supports all around to make it firm. This was also loaded on to the truck.

Eventually they arrive home but during the journey, Ricci could not take his eyes off Cameron, which never went unnoticed by Jenny, but she knew it was probably shock or some other kind of excusable reason!)

When we arrive back home, Jenny asks Ricardo to place the metal ramps to the back of the truck and fix them firmly so that I can roll the drums slowly down to the ground.

With that done, Ricardo trolleys them to one side. The gas canisters are unloaded, which leaves the very large generator to do next.

I push it to the back of the truck & lift one end on to the ramps then go to the other side, lift it and slide it on to the ramp and lower it gently.

Slowly by slowly I slide it down the ramps to the ground.

The same process is used down the steps to the bunker which is big enough for this process, *good planning by Jenny*.

Lifting and sliding is quite daunting even for me.

Ricci says "How are your hands after all that Cameron?" I show him the bare areas on the pad side of my fingers.

He says "Oh **Spanish**, come in to the house and I will try to stick your fingers together". His English is not perfect but he means join the gashes together.

He looks at Jenny. She is approving and happy by his concern, probably because her secret hero is John & Kyle.

She would have done the same for either of them - any other person in the future for that matter.

(It seems that Cameron is enjoying the attention, if you can call the almost expressionless look on a dog's face when it is having its ears tickled any indication. I, (THE WRITER, can tell you that I do see this in a dog.)

With her guidance Ricky uses thread to pull the remaining flesh from her fingertips, approx 1", down her fingers to keep it in place using the flesh of her hand to pull them taught.

He says "What happens now Cameron?"

Cameron replies "Within a few days the tips will heal and reach the hand. There was enough flesh on top to allow the blood supply and repairing nanodes a route to engender repair, otherwise I would have to grow new finger flesh. They should be OK in a few days. In the meantime I will wear rubber gloves to avoid cloth or leather friction. I will come back with Sarah 3 days from now. Ricci, you need to bring the 2 metal plates in here too. Jenny, once I have made my transfer, you need to follow my instructions. This operation will need to be performed a 2nd time after I return.

Your younger self will appreciate all your hard work. Perhaps you should consider contacting Garrett & Victoria and arrange for your younger self and brother Richard to have special schooling. They would like to meet you - I made an empty promise to bring them a photo of yourself. I need to go now. John is frantic that I am missing. I need to create a credible excuse for my disappearance. I will be back in 3 days at approximately 9pm with Sarah – it is important that you do not tell her anything or answer any of her questions. After this I will not ask for your help any more. Good bye".)

"Adios" "good bye". Many other pleasantries are passed as I get in to the SUV.

#_#

I phone Sarah, exchange codes and then she speaks, "John is going out of his mind, where have you been?"

I say "I have been trapped under the sea, it took me 2 days to make my way home".

She replies in the manner that she adopts when she disapproves. "What?! How the hell did that happen?"

I say "I spent my night tracking down the location of a Coltan shipment. The surface of the tanker was slippery and I fell in to the hold. When I eventually climbed out I had to jump overboard and make my way home. I have an internal compass. This is my new phone number, the other one was waterlogged".

(Cameron's face was so usually deadpan that if Sarah could see her she would never detect her lie.)

Sarah replies "OK, I'll tell John but he will not be happy that you got yourself in to that situation". (Cameron had the foresight to destroy her cellphone and get another one.)

I then say "There is a ship containing coltan imported from DRC but it is not destined for a Skynet company – in fact, a warehouse owned by a Zeira Corp subsidiary" - which is true.

#_#

When I get home John is indoors waiting for me. He asks me what happened & I give him the same explanation.

"I thought terminators were able to look where they were going?"

I say "Not all the time John, sometimes we have accidents too".

"Well, don't do it again, we need you".

I say "Why is that John?"

"You know why, you have been programmed that way. I know we have to look like brother and sister but why do you have to go off on your own at night? It is not good for me, it puts me in danger"

I reply "Some dangers cannot be fought at the last minute, prevention is better than the encounters that we sometimes face. If you prefer that I stand outside your bedroom all night or circle the house all night, I will do that. If you want more from me, please say so. Tell me now, tell Sarah too, she is in the next room listening".

(John goes quiet and walks upstairs. Cameron sits down and some tears run down her cheeks - her emotions have been switched back on. Sarah peeps through the crack, sees her face and then turns back and goes upstairs too. She will not sleep well tonight – food for dreams).

The next morning I am upstairs outside John's room with my gun in my coltan/flesh hand.

Sarah comes out of her room and is slightly startled to see me.

After a quick bathroom session she emerges and asks me to come downstairs.

I say "I can't, I have to protect John. I am acting under orders".

Sarah says "Well, I am telling you that you are needed downstairs on urgent business – it affects John's life". (All spoken in whispers, or Cameron's equivalent to a whisper = low volume).

(They go downstairs).

Sarah says "John was worried about you".

I say "in what respect?"

"He needs you to protect him".

I say "Yes, he does".

"That is your job. What is this story about prevention?"

I reply "If overwhelming odds attack us, I cannot protect us but if I find the source of these odds during my quiet overnight periods, then I can prevent these things happening. I know it could leave John vulnerable but there are not any reports of electrostatic interference on the police frequencies or airspace and Skynet does not know we are here".

(Sarah does not talk about what she saw last night but Cameron is aware that she was close to the door because her shadow was visible and scent strong).

#_#

The next 2 days pass uneventful, apart from the coolness which has developed because of my disappearance. I surf the net whilst John joins Sarah jogging – she does this because John says he will be safe with her.

When he gets back I inform him that nothing unusual has shown up anywhere.

He informs me that Sarah will be home soon. He said "she has a pain in her leg which could be better soon. She seems to be slowing down but does not talk about it even when I ask about it" – furthering my quest to take her away'.

The next day John & Sarah are true to form and go for a jog - she is late home and I say I will go to meet her because it is unsafe.

I follow his trail and find her walking the usual route. When she sees me she starts to jog and upon reaching me I pull her arm towards me and place a syringe directly in to the vein.

She shouts in terror "CAMERON", but I merely say to her that I am going to save her. I pick her up and walk to the roadside and put her in the back seat of our SUV, then drive away.

As soon as I reach a layby next to an abandoned service station on the freeway, I get out, check mine and Sarah's cellphones but only John has called - 25 & 35 missed calls respectively. I tie her hands & feet and make her comfortable on the cushions that I provided.

Then I phone Derek and say that I went to look for Sarah when John left her behind but when I got there she was being bundled in to a sports car. "I am in pursuit but will not catch it immediately. Please stay with John until I contact you".

The rest of the journey is uneventful and I arrive late afternoon.

As I approach I sound the horn and they are both waiting for me at the entrance to the front door. I explain that Sarah will wake up soon and will need water as I carry her out of the vehicle and indoors.

"Is everything set to go in 1 hour?" I ask.

Ricci says "Of course, we are a good team", then he smiles. He asked me what I was planning and what was going to happen.

I said "I am going to cure Sarah using the technology of the future, then we will be back without him even knowing that we had gone.

Jenny interjected and said to Ricci "the future is an extremely dangerous place, far more dangerous than any previous war imaginable against an enemy that would haunt the dreams of nightmares. It is how I broke my arm - I was thrown against a flying HK wreck by a metal terminator. Luckily some resistance fighters were there to save my life and destroyed it with a plasma rifle, not yet invented. Believe me Ricci, it is a place of hell that I have never told you about. I dream about it many times and that is why I keep waking you up at night - I am so glad that you are there to hold me".

He looks shocked.

Sarah is fully awake and shouts at me for an explanation.

"Cameron, what the hell is going on? Who are these people?"

I say "They are here to help you and John. His wellbeing is important and he cannot have it without our help. Derek is with John so he is safe. We will be home before tomorrow is out. 30 minutes from now we will take the necessary steps and then we can return to him".

I am careful only to say what is necessary not to spook her, and plant a thought that she is risking her life instead of John's.

Sarah demands, "why did you keep me tied up?"

I reply "You will not voluntarily do what I have planned".

Sarah yells "YOU BITCH, YOU HAVE REVERTED, IF I GET OUT OF THIS I'LL DESTROY YOU"

Jenny says "Would you like anything Sarah, food, drink etc? I am here to perform a task. Any decisions are not made by me, I'm sorry if you think I am hostile. Until a few days ago, Ricardo here had no knowledge of anything so please don't include him in any of your thoughts".

I tell Sarah that she will be away from home for quite a while and it will be necessary that she have food and water before we set off.

She replies by saying to Jenny, "you seem friendly enough, what is Cameron playing at? I'll have a sandwich & beer by the way".

"OK, will ham pickle do?"

"Yes".

Sarah asks Ricci some questions but he only answers things like 'I have known Jen for 5 years and she is a good woman, she has been very generous with her hospitality to me'.

30 minutes pass and now is a useful time to go. I tie Sarah's hands & legs together which engenders a hostile response:

"What the hell are you doing?"

I reply by saying "from now on you will be under my control - I will keep my promise and you will be back before you are even missed - please trust me".

I carry Sarah to the bunker whilst the others follow.

When we get downstairs I remind Jennifer and Ricardo that it is imperative that no sign of this place exists when we are gone.

Sarah looks around questioningly but says nothing.

I place her on the floor in the desired place.

Jenny starts up the equipment and I check the settings - my coordinate is Serrano Point 2024, but above ground 1 mile away – it is 2 months before I left the aircraft carrier on my mission to terminate John, the date that I have from my original program, which was copied from the Skynet mainframe.

In fact John sent 25 year old Jennifer Beal back to 1962 - 1 month 2 days after I joined him, a point in time that I am familiar with.

Predictably Sarah yells at me: "I know what this is, what are you doing, I can't lose John... What are you doing, CAMERON, CAMERON, CAMERON please stop this. JENNY, RICCI, GET ME OUT OF HERE".

The bubble starts to form, I kneel next to Sarah, then very quickly it is fully formed and almost immediately it is disappearing.

We are on wasteland which contains destroyed & burnt out cars and heavy weaponry. We are both predictable naked and the first thing we must do is also predictable.

I tell Sarah to follow me quickly, as she is no longer bound. I find a suitable hiding place for her.

"Please stay inside this car and hide until I return".

Sarah replies by saying "What the hell did you bring me here for & I hope you're going to get me some clothes".

I say "In this time period I can get your impending cancer cured, then you can return to John – please wait".

(Sarah sits in the car occasionally lifting her head up to see if she can see Cameron. There is not any sign of life but there does appear to be some form of humanlike shapes lying in the distance. They are part bone and part flesh, or perhaps the bone is rods – hard to tell.

This freaks Sarah and she remains quiet.

It is freezing cold and she has started to shake, it makes her bladder control very weak. She feels ill after a while, but then she hears footsteps.

She remains as quiet as possible, hoping it is Cameron – it is – the door swings open).

"I have got this shirt, a woolen cardigan and jacket and these denim trousers and socks. The boots are your size. I also bought these 3 pairs of knickers but I could not find you a bra".

(Sarah quickly looks at the clothes and then puts them on but puts the knickers in the pocket. Already Sarah has grasped the situation and does not question the quality or state of the clothes, but another woman's undergarments that have not come out of a washing machine is going too far for her.

She knew the clothes smelt musky and was aware of a few holes and tears, possibly blood too, but to argue with Cameron in her moment of desperation was futile). As we walk, I explain what we will be doing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously, Cameron takes Sarah to 2024 in order to get Skynet technology and save Sarah's life before she dies of leukemia. They have just arrived.**

**This chapter is told from the point of view of the writer**

**-0-**

Cameron says "Sarah, I need to rescue a girl who will soon die, you can help me in my mission as you are human and she will trust you".

Sarah replies "I am beginning to doubt your motives; if you let me down I will find a way to take you to pieces when we get home – you say you are here to protect John but he is not here, he is alone with Derek, how can that be protecting him?"

Cameron says "time is relative, when we get home to our timeline he would not have known we were gone, except that he will see changes".

Eventually the 2 of them reach an area that has lots of cars piled on top of each other; it appears to be an old scrap yard.

Cameron says "Stay here, I will be back – it will be dangerous so do not follow me".

Cameron then goes off in the direction of the cars. After a while she reaches the top of a small cliff or gulley molded by the elements k's of years ago.

An hour, thirty three minutes passes and then Sarah hears a shout. She carefully lifts her head and peers over the top of a rock to see what looks like Cameron fighting with an endoskeleton which has a large rifle. The 2 of them fall over the cliff which is followed by "metal" shouted by a male voice.

Sarah is frightened that it refers to Cameron. The gulley has sand washed up against it forming a soft fall and they roll down the small hill that was formed by wind over many years.

Shortly there is shouting, gunfire and then a loud blast which resembles the firing of a heavy duty rifle. It is quiet for approximately 10 minutes. Sarah dreads the prospect that her life is over.

Cameron eventually appears on the right side of the cliff adjacent to the cars and shouts "come here Sarah". Sarah's tension suddenly dies and she questions herself for actually being relieved that Cameron is OK.

When Sarah reaches the yard, she sees Cameron, 2 women and 3 men. They all look very serious and grubby. Their clothes are all different but entirely suited to the mission they had just accomplished. They all have their weapons pointed towards Cameron.

A man says "this lady saved our life but she looks like Allison – why is that?".

Sarah replies "I don't know".

As Sarah surveys the group, she suddenly realizes that although one of the girls hair is hidden by a helmet, her face looks like Cameron.

"Who are you?" Sarah asks her.

"Don't say anything" says one of the men, "we have a situation here that might be suspicious and a threat to our security. Who are you lady?" he says.

"I am Sarah".

"Sarah who?"

Sarah looks at Cameron and she answers for her.

"Sarah Phillips".

The man says "Who is the girl Sarah?"

She replies, "my daughter Cameron".

Cameron smiles.

The man, who seems to be in charge says "Well, your daughter is as brave as Allison, it takes guts to risk your own life to save the 5 of us, she could have died. I am glad we could save her life and all stand here now. Where are you from?"

Cameron says "we are looking for help, we left our group to trap food. There was gunfire & explosions in the distance. We hid for a while. When we returned they were all dead – We never had weapons".

Sarah nods in acknowledgement and invents her own story to authenticate it. Lying to these people did not sit well with Sarah but she knew she had to fit in somehow. Sarah asked the man what they used to destroy the terminator but he merely replied by saying "t-800".

The man invites them to join the group then says "when we get back to base you will be asked more questions".

35 minutes later, they stop. "Wait here he says". He goes off - then another man appears and he beckons to us. We walk towards an old car. The base of the rusty vehicle is missing and inside it a flat piece of metal stood against its interior right side doors.

We get in one by one and descend down a circular concrete shaft which is the entrance to a tunnel going off in opposite directions. It's large enough to stand up in and has metal brackets along its sides supporting various sized cables, cobwebs and dust.

We walk a short distance and then we are asked to wait. One of the other guys stays with us asks Cameron a question, "you know you look a lot like Allison, I think you know that so I guess there is not much point in my keeping quiet about it. If Allison was not so unique, it might have gone unnoticed or passed off as a coincidence. You have her cute little nose – it's that which I adore the most, it makes her look so cute, yet she is like 'action girl'. In fact I wish she would hold back a bit. Gee, am I in love? Haha. My name is Colin by the way, Colin McSteven."

Sarah replies "Nice to meet you, she does have that effect on men".

Colin replies "Who? You? Or her? Haha".

Sarah seemed to like that remark because she broke in to a small smile.

12 minutes later a man returns and immediately looks at Cameron, then Sarah, then back to Cameron and stares at her and says "where do you come from .. er.. Cameron, is that correct?"

"yes, I was adopted when I was a baby, perhaps we are twins and did not know it".

Sarah looks at Cameron and says "she calls me Sarah because I am more like a friend than her adoptive mother".

Cameron says "Sarah is not a fighter but is very good at assembling weapons and constructing bombs" (in order to prevent her being accidentally killed.)

The man says "so, judging by what they tell me, you are just like Allison and doing dangerously brave things. I'm impressed by what you did, will you both join us?"

"Yes of course" says Sarah.

"Good, some of the younger ones are out in the tunnels checking the traps, to see how many rats they have caught. Do you catch rats or do you live above ground?"

"Above ground" says Sarah.

Then the man says "Any chance that any of you know anything about medics?" Simultaneously they answer, Sarah says "no, only first aid"/Cameron says "yes, I can assist with newly broken bones".

After a few seconds he has digested what they said in unison and says "OK, that helps, Sarah can you use your adult skills to help the children with rat cooking?"

Sarah tries not to look glum and agrees.

The man then says "Cameron, your birth mark on your left eyebrow is so weird, I never knew twins had them identically too?"

Cameron replies "No, it is not normal so perhaps it is part of our genetic makeup passed down the generations".

He agrees that this is plausible and invites Cameron to meet the others and takes her through a hole blasted in the wall to a large straight-walled corridor. It seems likely that this team is separate from John Connor's control, therefore he hasn't called everybody together to form the resistance yet.

Cameron is escorted to meet the other people who include Allison. They greet her and applaud her for what they have been told.

32 minutes later 2 children come in to the room, the boy is aged approximately 7 and the girl 6, followed by Sarah. She seems happy. They all have metal plates with cooked rats on them. The fur has been burnt off and the food is passed around, each of the group of 11 take 1 each.

Cameron says "the children can share mine because I ate earlier", which seems to please them.

Even Sarah is eating hers sitting next to the children, so it appears that they have bought out a maternal instinct in her. They ask her questions and one of them who has latino skin hue and appearance says "Mom, Sarah knows how to speak Spanish, now you can both teach me to speak it". The mother is the other woman from the group, so it seems that their survival depends on anyone who has combat skills.

Later, they they are shown where they can sleep and Sarah seems keen to retire as soon as possible. Cameron promises to stay with her.

2 hours later there is a small tap on the door, it is Allison. She hands Cameron a gun which does not seem to serve much purpose against terminators. She tells her in her quietest voice "they are short on weapons and that is all they can spare at the moment. They only have 1 other plasma rifle which was found next to a t-888 after it received a hit by John Connor's men a month ago, plus the one we got today. It will not last much longer before it needs a replacement part to fuel it".

Cameron understands what she means.

Allison continues "I want to ask you how you got here Cameron? Did you know anything about me? Do you think we have the same mother? Oleg (pronounced Olyeg), thinks we have to be sisters! Is there anything else that you know about our mother? Your name is unusual.!"

When Allison finishes asking questions Cameron tells her that she does not know the answer to any of her questions except that another woman shares her name and her name is 'Cameron Diaz'.

Cameron decides that now is a good time to ask her to do something for her and says "Sarah seems to be OK with your group and the children, can you keep her with you whilst I return to where my family were, there is something important that I need to fetch? As we are without doubt sisters, I promise you that I will be back very soon".

Allison says "We have only just met, if you die now I will be very unhappy, perhaps I can come with you".

For Cameron this proposition is not a good idea and will hinder her plan as she does not want her true android self to be discovered yet. Therefore she says "no, I am sorry but I must do it alone. Your group need you and they would blame me if you never came back. I will be very quick".

Cameron makes her way to the exit and quickly returns the metal lid. She tells the man standing guard that she has to fetch something important and will be back, then heads for the terminated endoskeleton and removes the power pack and places it in a bag that she found – the chip was obliterated. She thinks _'I need to head to a Skynet work camp where they are developing the epidermal regeneration processes and associated organ growing farms. Although I was developed underground in a basement at a large deserted observatory, my interrogation of Allison took place on an aircraft carrier. Many prisoners were used to grow my blood. I was temporarily stored at a Skynet factory before flying to the aircraft carrier with Allison Young'._

Very soon, using her compass, she arrives at the Skynet camp where the t-888s are built. She waits for a hunting party to return with prisoners and turns on her infiltration mode & shouts "Jason, I love you, I can't live without you".

They all stare at her and a t-888 comes towards her with a plasma rifle. It says "come with me, do not try to run".

She joins the 888 and gets herded in to the group of prisoners. When she gets inside, they are lead towards a containment center. She sees what she is looking for and stays with the others.

One by one they are taken upstairs for interrogation & barcoding. Cams turn comes and she lets it drag her up the stairs, complaining. When she reaches the top, with full speed she grabs its plasma rifle and pushes it down the stairs.

She is familiar with this place and heads for the next flight of stairs. Down the corridor is a room that is used for developing the chassis of their newest infiltrator models – she was designed here.

Another t-888 guards the door & Cameron fires a blast at its head and it falls to the ground. The required blood modifier is in this room. She runs in and grabs 2 of them, they are not very big, the size of a half a cucumber.

She hears the t-888s approaching & slams the thick door shut & fires a burst at the steel door bolt to weld it shut, this will momentarily slow them down.

The occupants of this room stand in terror. She says "Follow me if you want to live. If you stay here you will die as soon as they have finished with you."

The fire door at the opposite side of the room is permanently sealed and Cameron shoots the bolts – it opens as soon as she kicks it with the under flat of her foot. Her body is also in this room, assembled, skinned & ready for plastic surgery on the face.

She picks it up off the table where it is lying. Fortunately the chip is in it, encased by a plastic cover the size/shape of an egg cup. She takes her newly developed self through the door & slowly descends the fire escape.

A female that was in the adjacent room has rushed to the exit and follows her down - as she looks up she scans her cranium & facial features when the woman looks down at her - it is a match. Cameron hears the door in the room slam open so she jumps and lands on the ground. She dropped herself so she picks herself up & runs (literally).

The female runs off in another direction which is wise as Cameron is the prime target. She hears a shot fired and some shouting by the exit - she thinks _'I gave the humans a choice but it seems they did not move fast enough – they have either died or will be put back to work again'._

Cameron thinks _'Now that I have rescued Allison, Skynet will find another suitable young female to enter John Connor's camp but it will not happen as soon as they envisaged. This is actually bad because without me I am unable to predict how John will conduct his life here until my replacement is built and captured by him. It is possible that the next tok-715 will kill John but it will hopefully not be so important providing that I can survive to change his destiny. I now have a personal friend that can help me in 2008. Using my developing free-will, I also have the option of changing the prime directive of the newly acquired tok-715, then give it to this John. My main plan is that I will warn him: that if a female which he might find desirable or is his friend goes missing he should be wary and ensure they have dogs around him at all times, in case she mysteriously returns unharmed'._

Cameron eventually gets back to her newly found base and finds that a sentry has spotted her.

"Allison?" he says. "Cameron?" she says, followed by "I found this girl from my group, she is still alive".

Fortunately for Cameron it is dark and he cannot see the body's face. He looks at Cameron shocked and quickly urges her in to the tunnel. She carries herself over her shoulder and descends the steps which are single rounded rods set in the concrete. Going down and jumping with her left hand step by step is not a problem for her but she can see that the sentry looking down is mystified that she can do this.

Processing things very very quickly, Cameron also thinks about the 5th person to bring back to 2008 and make a valid contribution to John.

Kyle has always been the main choice but Sarah had her time with him and perhaps anything more than that will destroy her memories of him and lead to disappointments – he will not be the same Kyle, the moment has gone, his psyche, the events of the past. She thinks 'I don't know much about what happened but it has had a lasting effect on Sarah and to destroy her bubble that contains all these memories could be bad, cannot be repaired and embellishment is often tacky – I learnt all this from reading, I wonder if it would impress John?'

When Cameron gets to the bottom, she can see 2 of the children. She thinks _'I expect to see Sarah nearby, she has become an unwilling nanny – it will be interesting to see how she adapts'_.

Cameron does see Sarah and she is accompanied by two of the males in the group. It seems as though they like this new lady and she is smiling, which is unusual. Perhaps she also feels that she is in her element?

When Sarah sees Cameron holding a naked female, she runs over and Cameron explains to her that 'it is me'.

The 2 men asks her what is wrong with her and Cameron says "I found her abandoned".

Knowing that these men might be panicked and get the wrong impression, Cameron says to Sarah "this lady asked to be looked after by you before she passed out".

Cameron is careful to ensure that 'her face' is turned away from them.

"Don't just stand there, give her some modesty, do we have any spare clothes?" said Sarah. Then she said "Please both of you, give her a break".

Cameron carries her to Sarah's room and lays her down.

When Sarah looks at her she asks Cameron why her face is missing features. Cameron explains that it is 'me' - "only plastic surgery is necessary and that the scars heal up very fast afterwards".

"What about the chip?" Sarah asks. Cameron replies "I do not know at the moment, there are 2 possibilities. If the chip has received its program, then I need to find out why it is not working and also change the directive. The other possibility is that it is not completely programmed and therefore I might have to copy parts of my programming on to it. Doing this is not possible here as only Skynet has the computers. Even if John's team can get a computer, it would never be able to hold enough data to produce the desired effects because 'memory' alone is a premium not possible on computers in this period either. Only these chips have enough memory and even the terminator models do not have sufficient storage to match mine because I have extra quantum panning to allow for emotional responses. I will not accept less Sarah. I need access to a mainframe and I believe this can be done back in 2008 because using Skynet computers would never accomplish this goal as it is too dangerous – they would block anything I do and their bases are guarded – they will learn a lot from my invasion and thus, going back would fail".

Cameron then says to Sarah "I can save the 2 children from this existence and possibly the Mexican woman who has adopted the other child. My calculations say that because women are smaller built, we can bring back an extra person – I must be absolutely sure because I only have 1 chance and any one of us could be left behind".

The children's names are Dean and Marta. Their mother is Connie, which she explained is Contessa Alvarez.

Sarah agrees to this, which is helpful.

Later, whilst they are eating their staple diet, Cam eats too, in order to fein authentication.

Cam says "Connie, may I lift you up and guess your weight, this is a good game we can play with the children. Cameron puts her arms around Connie's waist and up she goes.

"You seem to be quite petite por favor?" Cameron says

"Si !"

Then Cameron says "Dean, Marta, who do you think is the heaviest, Allison or Contessa?"

This is greeted by laughs all round and the game continues. Cam records their weights then says "I believe Connie is the lightest".

Words like "no way" and "not when she sits on you" & laughter ensues.

Then Cam continues with "now you two, I think Marta is the heaviest" It is obvious that this is not the case but it allows Cameron to weight them.

More mirth and Sarah is once again enjoying the whole thing, as is the other guys.

Cameron sees by her actions that Sarah will miss all these people but John will be her biggest draw back home.

Cameron thinks 'these people are only existing and could quite easily be killed in the near future, it might be too late for them before they join John, especially as she has now delayed his reprogramming of a cyborg that resembles a pretty girl'.

Whoever Cameron plucks from this time, the birth of Contessa will still happen and she will again exist in this time, as will Allison. Time will be altered but not in the way that many humans would assume. It is possible that Contessa will have Marta again in this time, whereas if j-day is averted Contessa's life will be completely different, whereas Marta might not exist at all.

Sarah invites Allison back to her room to try and find out more about her. There is not much to tell but her truthful story matches most of the things she said when Cameron interrogated her for 3 weeks before killing her. Sarah does not know this story and is captivated by her sense of loss from what seems like the perfect existence, nothing like John's childhood but perhaps he liked living in places like Nicaragua and befriending the soldiers.

The story of her mother Claire Young listening for hours to Chopin was quite surprising to Sarah. When Allison told her about her architect father, Sarah said that she expected him to be a soldier or the like.

Cameron was listening & thinks 'this is an emotion that will be even more intense if I decide to switch my emotions on and see how I feel about it – my only consolation is that I have now been able to change this timeline but the fact that it happened, like Kyle to Sarah, is something that I will have to live with'.

Cameron has learnt a lot through reading romantic novels.

Sarah asks Allison if she knows who Marta's father is. She tells her that she does not know and perhaps Conny will tell her.

Sarah and Allison talk about many subjects and Allison asks Cameron questions.

Cam tells Ally that she knew John and he is a man that she would like very much & explains that he is liked by many people and they respect his bravery and decisions.

Then Cam says "As well as Sarah Connor, he has had to fight these machines long before judgment day and between the 2 of them have had a life on the run, not only evading them but the authorities too, who did not believe their stories. They were ostracized by the very people that they were trying to protect, although the ordinary people were never told the truth".

Cameron continues "both himself and his mother could not have an ordinary relationship like other people. Whoever they were with were endangered by their presence".

Then Cam says to Allison "I believe he would find you to be different from many others. They tell me you are brave, I was reckless back there, it was my first and last time, I hope. He needs somebody like you. Have you ever felt strongly about somebody?"

Sarah listens and feels a little uneasy about where this conversation is going.

Allison says "no, I always have my thoughts on my group and any advancements I receive I try to be nice but firmly no. I must have silly unrealistic expectations".

Suddenly Allison asks why the girl has her face covered with a bandage wrap. Sarah butts in and says her face was hit by rocks or something as she found her face down on them.

"Was she... you know?" says Allison, Cam replies "What?"

Sarah quickly adds "we don't know. It is unlikely. She was probably washing or something similar when the t-888s attacked". Allison accepts this.

The biggest gamble of all is due to be played out the next day.

When Sarah is awake, Cam says to her "if you can convince Conny to bring the children with us, we will provide a much safer place for them to live and the constant fear of discovery will be much reduced, they will have a much better life if we join John (young John). If she agrees, they can come back with us and Jenny will house us until we can get back to John. The other people here will be OK. If we can avert j-day their bleak future will not occur".

The actual complexities of time displacement are not as first imagined and Sarah accepts my words and goes off to find Conny.

Conny and her group are just returning from spending time outside checking that their place of refuge is still safe.

Sarah says "Hi, how are things out there?" Colin says "quiet again, it appears that Skynet spends its time elsewhere. It was lucky that Cameron turned up when she did to save our group, it was almost as if she knew what was going to happen" he says jovially.

This makes Sarah pause for thought a moment, then says "do you stay out long?"

Colin says "not usually, it is too dangerous but very soon we will run out of supplies from the supermarket and then we will be desperate because when we went back last time if was burnt out & empty. We have rationed ourselves to this food once a week and ensure the children take a vitamin pill. Our water comes from below ground, (pointing to the spot), it seeps through the rock very slowly from the small stalactites, so we have to be careful how much we drink".

This remark further enforces Sarah's agreement to take Cameron's advice and she asks Connie to come and see her alone when she gets the chance.

Sarah goes off to find the children, who despite their dismal world seem to be in good spirits and fairly healthy - this is probably because of the good food and vitamin pills that are passed around once a week.

"So who is the luckiest ratter amongst you?" Sarah says.

A short while later Connie turns up and Sarah tells the children to see if they can find any metal objects like nails anywhere. The purpose is not necessary but it will keep them amused after she told them they will be used for bombs against the terminators, as this is their greatest fear when she talks to them alone. Shielding them from the realities of this world was futile for Sarah as they seemed to bring the subject up a lot and it was not as though they were children from 2008 because they were deadly serious in their descriptions and fears.

C: = Conny - S: = Sarah - the conversation below.

S: "Conny, I am concerned for you and your future. In the near future John Connor will rise up and become the leader of the resistance. Can I tell you some things that you promise not to divulge to anyone?

C: "It depends".

S: "Good answer. I have not been here long and already I have become fond of the children and I know you value their life. I believe you can use your influence to tell your group to find John Connor before your time becomes bleak. I am his mother and I can tell you that he has been trained all of his life for this role. He will lead them to victory over Skynet but he needs a united resistance of every person as soon as possible before you are all wiped out. This is not, no matter what, a place for children and I can save them but I cannot be their mother. Cameron lied to you about me. I am trained in all aspects of guerilla tactics and weapons".

(At this time Sarah reveals her wounds as she explains how she got each one - nothing is left out. A few seconds of quiet ensue).

C: "I see, and what can you do to help them?"

S: "I can take them from here and lifelong safety in an environment free from all this but you need to agree to go with them because the place that they go to will need you to guide them in the future. I cannot do this without your help and their future will be a slow downward spiral if they stay with John because his world is very dangerous and full of refugees, many of them with self-interest and much worse. Most of the refugees are good people but the food is short and the resistance must come first if this foe is to be destroyed. I know all this because Cameron has told me about it".

C: "I see. They are my friends, how do I know you speak the truth?"

S: "You don't but this is your chance to do the right thing. Please believe me that I admire you, you and I could be good friends if you come with me. Your skills will never be wasted and you can help in the place that I can take you to. You will be welcomed there. There is not much more that I can say except that your future will be quite unexpected in a good way", as Sarah smiles.

C: "I hardly know you but if you are wrong can I come back?"

S: "You can". Sarah was sure she spoke truthfully in this last remark.

C: "OK, I will speak to them and tell them that our only hope is to join John Connor, I think they will see that this is sensible".

S: "Yes, we need to let them think that we were captured after you tell them what they should do. We can do this by going to the surface with the children on the pretense that they need air and we are searching for moles whilst you and Cameron keep watch. We will disappear from view, the guard will not follow us - a good decoy would be for you to fire your plasma rounds from a distance and the children can leave their toys on the ground. When your group search for you they will think you have been kidnapped by Skynet".

C: "Si".

Sarah returns to Cameron and tells her that everything appears to be agreed to.

Contessa then enters the room and asks Cameron what the life she is expected to go to will be like. She says "the children will be much happier and will meet other children. You will even meet Ricardo who is from Mexico. When we arrive at the place of departure it will mean waiting in a bunker until we can leave here".

There is one unpleasant thing that Cameron has not told either of them ... and she won't.

Connie says "OK Cameron/Sarah, I will agree to this for the children but if I did not have them I would go with my friends."

Sarah says "good, when can we go?" and Connie replies " 1 hour before dark if you think that time is safe?"

Cameron says "OK, I will make preparation, please come with me Sarah".

When the 2 of them are alone, Cameron explains that she has got 3 items that need to go with her and the only way to do that is to hide them under skin. She has put the powerpack in her other self in the abdomen area and there will be a bulge there. The other two she will sow in to herself now to allow the scar to heal enough to join, even if not healed completely.

Sarah sits there whilst she does this using an unpicked hessian bag and forces the rolled up thread through her skin using a nail that she has scraped to make the point blunt and thus gripping the thread as she pushes it through.

Sarah looks at Cameron doing this and does not see any emotion. "Have you ever tried turning your sensors on when you do that Cam, or is this kind of thing non-painful?"

Cameron replies "I tried it on my arm once and the pain was unbearable so I turned the sensors off".

That evening, Connie turns up with the children and says "we need to go whilst Colin is on guard up top, he will do as I say more willingly after I seduce him a little".

They go with the promise of moles and some worms for Colin is their joke of the day. They stay in sight until they reach the last standing wall.

"Sarah shall we give the children a piggy back ride? I learnt those words from a book at the library" says Cameron.

Sarah asks them and then says "Yes, they say that will be fun".

They run in front of the last piece of remaining wall from a house that is visible by Colin, then they run in the direction of Cameron. Cameron occasionally slows down to allow them to catch up. After a while Sarah is getting tired and Connie takes over.

"How much further Cameron" says Sarah. She replies "only 34 minutes but now would be a good time to stop".

Then Connie says "Children, we are going to fire our gun at this old metal wreck so that Colin knows that we are still here. Then you need to leave your baskets here until we get back, we are going to see some nice people". (This is to let Colin think they have been kidnapped).

Cameron explains to Connie at this point that they have to go underground when they get there. "It is a small bunker but it will take us much much further away from all this" she says.

Connie puts Marta down and fires some of her plasma rounds at the metal. Sarah fires her gun at another metal object and the children put the baskets down.

"That should be enough to tell him that we are still here" says Connie to the children. "OK let's go round here to meet our new friends and then everything will be good" said Sarah, who then picks up Marta.

Cameron picks up Dean again and they move as fast as possible but at a reduced speed now as Sarah is finding it hard going.

Eventually they arrive and Cameron says "we are here" so they put the children down.

Nearby the remains of a big house can be seen - none of it is standing except for a small area. There is not any sign of the shed that Ricardo first took shelter in.

Cameron says "we need to dig here". They do not have spades so they assist her by removing the soft earth as she uses the plasma rifle end to break through the sandy compacted soil. Eventually they reach metal and Sarah & Connie sweep frantically with their hands.

Earlier that day

Cameron goes to the tunnel entrance. It is Allison's turn to stand guard. She says "I need to move Sonia to John's camp, she is too ill now. Can you help me & get somebody to stand guard?

Ally says "do you know where his camp is?" Cam replies "Yes, I can arrange for his scouting party to pick us up at a hidden location. I have brought her to the entrance but I need some help lifting her. I will stay here whilst you find Colin".

Cam has placed a small amount of blood under the bandage to make it look as though her injury has gone bad.

Colin & Ally attempt to carry Sonia up the metal rungs, Colin has her over his shoulder but finds it difficult so Allison offers to go up first and pull a rope around his chest.

Cam feels it is best to let them do it because another show of super-human strength would definitely arouse suspicion.

As he climbs the ladder with his load, he looks up and says "It is a good job that Allison has her own combat gear otherwise I would never know who is who".

Cam assists Allison to pull the rope trying to look less able than her. They get Sonia up and lie her down. Colin goes back down and gets their home-made stretcher and brings it up.

"OK, good luck twins" he says and smiles at them as they carry her towards Jenny's plot.

An hour later and they are there - Allison is shown the way in to the basement of the demolished house, as they stretcher the other Cameron down.

Cameron says "Please stay there, I will be back very soon", then climbs the steps and closes the door and quietly place some rocks over it. Whatever happens next is up to Allison's curiosity but it does not matter either way.

**Back to the present**

The group go down the steps to the bunker (not the basement) and Cameron goes back up. She goes across to the ruin and removes the rocks. Allison is down there looking rather upset and shouts at Cameron "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE? WHERE IS HER FACE?"

Cameron's reply is "she is my sister and her face was made that way by Skynet before I rescued her. She will not die, she will be OK after plastic surgery".

"Huh, some chance of that" says Allison.

Cameron says "Anything is possible Ally - would you please keep her identity a secret until I can explain things - we should take her back up the steps, our party members are here".

They take Sonia back up the steps and across towards the bunker and put the stretcher down.

"Down there" Cameron says. As she goes down she grabs Sonia and follows her.

Allison looks round at Cameron surprised. "Keep going" says Cameron who opens the double door and is greeted by the others. Allison stands there in shock.

Cameron enters the room and lays Sonia down.

Connie is the first to speak and asks what is going on.

Cameron replies "I did not tell you my full plan but all will be clear soon, please wait there".

Cameron goes back through the double doors and picks up the 2 metal sheets that were placed against the wall close by. Takes them up to the surface and places one against the other in the shape of a roof. Then puts rocks next to the bases of the sheets and pushes as much sand up as possible against one of the sheets.

Finally with the lid, she rams it up against the sand covered side, It rises by an inch, the other sheet drops on to the lid and the other sand covered sheet falls on top of that as she drops the lid in to place.

Any abnormalities in disguise of the entrance will be hidden by the next strong wind or rain.

At the base of the steps is a double door that has a good thick rubber-like seal to protect the room from the elements.

When Cameron goes inside she sees them all standing there. Sarah has begun to explain that the equipment in the room is designed to take them away but has not said any more.

The children looked in a small box and inside were bottles of water. "Can we drink these" said Dean. Cameron said "yes".

"That was thoughtful of Jennie" said Sarah.

As Connie crosses the room to join the kids, Cameron quietly says to Sarah (forcefully) "When we transport, it is important that you hold on to Connie & Allison no matter what happens do not let go. The TDE will recognize 2 people as 1 if they hold a bleeding wound together. This is because it cannot differentiate the difference between humans with wounds and where their body mass begins and ends. The TDE is designed for 5 people but I calculated by lifting Connie and the children yesterday that we are less than 5 people.

The first thing Cameron does is explain to everybody "I arrived from 2027 three years from now and went back to 1999. I then travelled forward from 2008. Finally I travelled to this time and saved Allison from certain death - I knew where she would be because I had knowledge of this from 2027. I did not know Connie or the children but they are not needed in this future and can do a lot more good in 2008. They, more than anybody else, can appreciate what it is like to be children in 2024".

Cameron speaks to Allison "because I have saved you, they can't build your cyborg in this timeline. They were going to mold her in your image and send her to kill John Connor and place his head on a pike for all to see. That event has been temporarily prevented but they will build another cyborg sometime in the near future so we must go back and continue our fight to prevent this happening. Sarah, are you ready to do what has to be done?"

Sarah has been quiet up until now and has a few things to say on the matter "Cameron, you never told me about this, Allison is not a willing guest... are you?"

Allison replies by saying "no, I can't possibly do anything that means leaving my friends".

Sarah says "It's OK Ally, I have got them to agree to join John Connor in this battle and they will go later today".

Allison says "so where is the group of people who are coming to save us?" Sarah replies by saying "we will see them soon".

Lots of talking ensues, even the children ask questions.

During the cross talking, Cameron quickly butts in and says "Sarah, I need to explain to you what will happen next" then takes her to the other side of the room.

Cameron speaks quietly to Sarah "when we transport, it is important that you hold Allison and Connie's hands. They will try to break free and grab me but what I will do is important. You are a strong woman and will be able to stomach what I am to say to you next. The cutting of a wound in to the hands has to be the palms of the children. I will do this just before transport because they are the only 2 light enough to be considered as a single organism by the TDE software. They will soon recover but Allison and Contessa will not understand and to explain to them now will be futile. I am sure you can hold on to 1 hand each long enough to restrain them sufficiently as transport takes place. You can leave the timing up to me".

Sarah says "Of course Cameron, I can do that, I know how drastic times call for drastic measures - get me back to John and then I will deal with you".

Cameron gets the equipment set up. The generator is covered by a big plastic sheet and cloth. The oil drum has got oil in it so she starts it up. The noise is quite loud and the children suddenly jump and hold their ears, Connie momentarily does the same.

The equipment all seems to be OK in this dry environment and works.

After 5 minutes she has set the coordinate time to the same time that this equipment was set from = the time of arrival will be 1 minute after transport from 2008.

Cameron places Sonia on the floor and asks everybody to stand in the middle of the room next to her and asks for the 2 children to stand on the other side of Sonia close to her.

Then she presses the start-up and electricity starts flashing.

"OK" says Cameron, "please stay calm everything will be OK".

The bubble starts to form and Sarah grabs hold of Connie and Allison's hands and holds them firm.

Cameron watches the bubble forming and then takes out a Stanley knife and places it between her legs close to her crotch with the blade pointing outwards. She pulls the children by their waists to her side and says "please hold my hands".

She then slide her grip down to their fingers and quickly cut the entire length of their palms.

Sarah holds tighter, the children scream, Connie/Allison struggle. Finally, Cameron holds their bleeding palms together and transport takes place.

The group are now experiencing the arrival - the bubble is dying away.

Jenny & Ricky are suddenly startled by the reappearance of the bubble which reveals pandemonium. The 2 women are pulling as hard as they can to try and reach Cameron. The 2 children are screaming and yelling as Cameron lets go of their hands and they fall to the ground.

Sarah lets go, or perhaps the women break free and rush towards Cameron shouting at the top of their voices and swinging their hands at her.

Cameron takes the blows and decides to fall to the ground beneath them.

Sarah runs towards them and tries to pull them off whilst shouting "it's alright, Cameron had to do it to get them through".

Cameron breaks free and rushes over to where she left the Stanley knife in this timeline and immediately cuts the 2 items out of her abdomen and rushes over to Sonia and cuts the powerpack out of her stomach.

Sarah has knelt down during this process to explain to the 2 women why Cameron did what she did but Cameron's action did not go unnoticed by the children.

Cameron rolls Sonia over on to her stomach and sits on the floor next to her facing the other way.

The sight that plays out before Ricky & Jenny is drawdropping.

They just stand there as the children run towards Jenny and cling to her legs from behind her.

Ricky still stands there dumbstruck when all of a sudden Sarah turns to face him and shouts "for gods sake man, get us some clothes".

He stands there a little longer after hearing her and moves his head to glance this amazing site until Sarah shouts "NOW POR FAVOR".

At this he suddenly comes back to earth and rushes towards the exit. Cameron did not plan anything so mundane as clothes on standby before she left this timeline.

Whilst Ricky was upstairs Sarah eventually restores order and explains why Cameron had to cut their hands.

Cameron in the meantime walks unashamedly towards Allison and tells her that she will explain everything.

Jenny has thought these events through and suddenly realizes that they might all be hungry.

"I am Jenny and I am from 2024. I know you will be hungry for nice food, shall we all go upstairs and eat as soon as Ricky returns with the clothes?"

Of course the response is "yes" from everybody as they sit on the floor in their respective position with their knees up and hands over their breasts trying to preserve a little modesty.

Connie has called the children over and asked them to sit next to her.

Jenny says "I will get a needle & thread for you Cameron".

When Ricky eventually returns Jenny is at the door and prevents him coming in. "I bought extra jumpers and a belt each for the children, I could not find clothes for them" he says.

"Thank you Ricky, wait there a moment and then we will be up" says Jenny.

Very soon the doors swing back and the smiling children walk through, immediately followed by everybody else except Sonia whose face is unbandaged and wrinkly.

Cameron has already explained to the children why she had to cut them which is re-enforced by Sarah which they happily accept. She uses this excuse to explain to them about the abdomen cutting whilst Sarah is choosing clothes and asks them to keep this secret in exchange for some nice new games.

It seems their time in the future has made them a lot less squeamish. They both have a cloth around their hand and Jenny has promised to get them a nice big plaster to make them better.

Cameron has told everybody that Sonia was left with this affect after Skynet experimented on her. "I will get medical help to make her well and arrange plastic surgery too" she said.

Ricky looks in and asks why the other lady has been left behind. Allison says "she will be OK for now" because Cameron has told her so.

Cameron stays downstairs until Jenny returns with the needle & thread. The others go upstairs and in to the house slowed down only by the pausing by the adults & children from 2024 who say many things about the wonderment of it all.

Jenny says there is not a lot of food but is surprised by what they eat, things such as all the fruit, the tins are emptied, numerous baked beans, tomatoes, raw potatoes, almost everything that she has in stock.

The children are disappointed to find that the frozen chicken is too hard which they would have probably eaten raw.

Ricky asks Cameron if she would like to join him on a trip to town and get more food. She declines saying that she needs to get back to John but Sarah insists that she go. (No doubt his motives were to find out more about her and we can't rule out physical attraction - dangerous ground... eh Jenny ! - if Sarah approves, then Jenny approves... but it still makes her a little jealous... a lot actually).

"I will phone John to say everything is OK. I will tell him we will see him later and that he must stay there" Cameron says.

There is another stage to Cameron's plan that 2 of these guests are not expecting, 3 if you include Sonia.

**Avid fans of the show will remember those words spoken by Jesse to Riley: "I rescued you from hell and bought you to paradise".**


	3. Chapter 3

**Cameron Phillips & Sarah Connor have returned, along with Contessa, Allison & the 2 children Marta & Dean from 2024 back to 2008. She has also brought back her body double from a Skynet factory before it was made ready to terminate John.**

**As far as Jennifer & Ricardo are concerned, Cameron was only gone for 1 minute.**

**Cameron's logic for doing this is cyborg logic and although with good intention etc., might not turn out that way... or will it?**

**-0-**

The next day after everyone has slept, except you-know-who. There are stirrings from the room where the kids are and it seems that almost nobody is exempt from their excited talking downstairs and in the garden. Cameron is keeping an eye on them because Jenny is still asleep and she has given Conny time to walk around the area, smelling the roses etc. with Allison.

Sarah & Ricardo sit indoors listening to Jenny's stories from the future, including how she was a Skynet prisoner for a very long time and explains to Ricardo, after all this time, what her barcode really is whilst Sarah nods to confirm what she says, saying that John's father and uncle Derek had one too.

Jenny explains how she was made to use her intelligence to develop the TDE along with many other scientists - she was able to bring back the technology by using the meat trick using one of the small book readers and usb-pens with the schematics downloaded from the TDE before she was sent back. She points out that the meat was actually the leg of a dead resistance fighter whose valuable contribution has never left her thoughts - "his name was Thomas" she said. The 2 listeners wonder if they could ever come to terms with all this and whether they will ever cease to be shocked by the horrific stories.

There is a lot of talking to be done and many things are discussed like finding toys for the children, what Contessa plans to do (Jenny offers to give her lots of help). There are weapons caching etc. Sarah apologizes to Jenny for bringing all this on her but it seems to have invigorated Jenny's enthusiasm - Ricci agrees to whatever is involved.

Cameron talks to Allison asking her if she would like to meet John Connor - Allison is more than happy to do this. "I feel that he would like to meet you - mention fooseball in the arcade and he will realize who you are - perhaps you should stay here until I have spoken with Sarah".

When Sarah is alone upstairs, Cameron goes up and tells her what she said to Allison. Sarah says to Cameron it sounds OK by me but John might be annoyed. Then Sarah says "One other thing we must do is make sure our new friends have everything they need, including weapons if they want them - phones, ID etc".

Sarah then goes on to say "when do you intend moving Sonia?"

"I will leave her here for now, Jenny can tend to her".

Jenny appears by the door and asks how Sonia is, Cameron says she is stable and she has managed to get her to drink. She asks her to look after Sonia whilst she is away for a day.

Sarah is a little anxious and decides it is time to go and tells Cameron so.

Cameron asks her to wait whilst she gets her bag.

"What's in the bag?" Sarah asks.

"A present for John".

Sarah decides not to ask another question as she will find out sure enough.

They tell the others they are going. The children hug Cameron and then Sarah and the others take a long time to say how grateful they are.

"Come back soon Cameron, I still have lots of questions about our future now that we are gone" says Conny.

Everything said, they set off. Cameron said she will drive. They go down the drive and out along the road then Cameron tells Sarah they need more fuel.

They reach the desert Gas station that Cameron observed on the way there. She goes to the pump, fills up and goes inside to pay.

Sarah visits the ladies room. As she comes out, she feels a sharp pain in the leg and looks down to find a feathered dart. All of a sudden she begins to black out and Cameron rushes up from around the corner and catches her - she had used the dart gun from the veterinary surgery safe on her.

She carries Sarah back in to the Ladies then fetches their vehicle, parks outside and lifts Sarah on to the back seat making her comfortable again.

Then she drives to Charlie's house.

Michelle answers the door looking very attractive with her nice hair and revealing cleavage.

Cameron asks for Charlie. When he comes to the door Cameron tells Charlie that Sarah is dying and he can save her.

Michelle, now married to Charlie for a year, is more than disgusted by the whole event (seeing that Sarah was his girlfriend).

Cameron says to her that she understands her sentiments but this involves saving Sarah's life & also says "once the small operation has been performed we will leave you to your life. If he has not told you much about us, you must believe me and him that what we do is for everybody – I will explain later and provide proof if you need it. If you do not comply I will be forced to disable you until we are gone. I am not here to hurt you, that's not my mission".

"Charlie, is she threatening me?" says Michelle.

"No", "these people will never harm us, they really do need our help and what Cameron says is not an understatement by any means - please help me by cooperating, we are not under threat, I am acting as a friend would".

Michelle replies "You're going to hear some words from me after all this Charlie, believe me. What do you want from me now?"

"Whatever is necessary - thank you love - please trust me" he says.

"OK, Michelle, help me get Sarah in whilst Charlie gets his chest operation equipment", then Cameron looks at Charlie with consternation.

Sarah is placed on the bed upstairs as they do not have a suitable table. Cameron explains to Charlie what he must do after telling him that she will die within 2 years of cancer. Michelle butts in "What, how do you know?" Cameron explains "Charlie will tell you later, we must act fast".

Cameron says "This is a blood and flesh regenerator, it was built by Skynet in 2024 and will instill antibodies through her blood stream and give her increased flesh regeneration - it needs to be powered by this powerpack which is nuclear and will last for 100 years - it can be replaced any time - the cord is plugged in here once a year through a cut in the flesh. The regenerator needs to be inserted in to her body taking the blood flow from her heart and then returning it to the same artery to continue on its way. I have the powerpack in case judgement day comes and Sarah does not have a source of power to recharge it - the powerpack will charge the regenerator much faster than conventional rechargers. I have a spare regenerator in case the other one is damaged for some reason, such as gunfire. Once it is installed, the process cannot be reversed because the DNA structure will be altered indefinitely. She will have improved bone structure, stronger organs, her health will improve and she will be stronger and fitter. It will even help her brain to function better. She will not be as strong as me but much better than she is now."

Cameron stops talking. Michelle speaks up "Charlie, what am I hearing, please stop this now, you aren't surely going to butcher this woman?"

Charlie then speaks up too "Cameron, I can't possibly do this, how do I know this is not some kind of Frankenstein experiment?"

Cameron replies to them both (bluffing) "Then I will have to do it myself but I will not permit you to leave here. You have had experience of anatomy, I have not, I might make a mistake and connect the wrong artery".

Michelle starts to walk away but Cameron is quick and grabs her with her hand over her mouth - she says "Charlie I have warned you, perform this operation and persuade your lovely wife to stand by you or I will have to anesthetize her"

Charlie says "will you do as she says?" Michelle nods her head.

Charlie continues "Cameron, she needs proper medical facilities for this procedure". Cameron replies "no, she does not, cut the correct artery and place each end straight over the pipes and everything will be OK - please start, I do not want to wait too long because I have other things to do".

Charlie would never consider doing anything like this to Sarah were it not for the fact that Cameron was the source of this rare inspiration.

Charlie makes the cut and Michelle looks on shaking with pain on her face. Cameron has the regenerator in her hand, the correct way round and as soon as the artery is cut blood spurts everywhere, up Michelle's dress, over the bed and pumps heavily. Cam lowers the regenerator and Charlie connects the arteries over the pipes tightening them with nylon cord.

The arteries stay in place and the blood continues pumping. Cameron gives Sarah another injection to keep her asleep and explains that they need to see the arteries grow around the device to avoid the arteries slipping off. Once that happens, she can be sown up.

Cameron walks away and gets her cellphone out "Please wait here and I will phone John". Michelle says "Charlie, I can't see a problem but surely this can't be right - is she going to die?"

Charlie replies "She looks OK, we must trust what we see, if Cameron says it is OK, then believe me Darling, it will be OK. I know Sarah seemed healthy but if she would die in the future, then you can take it to be the truth".

Michelle says "why do you say these things, she is only a young woman, has she hypnotised you or something, you must be mad!".

Charlie replies "I will ask her to show you some evidence when she comes back, then I know you will believe everything you see".

Cameron speaks (using Sarah's voice) "July 17 2008. John, we have been held up but Cameron rescued me and has stopped off at Jenny's house, she is one of us - I will meet you later than planned". "OK" said John "but I want a full explanation, I am worried as hell Mom and so is Derek - you had better have some good things to tell me". Cameron continues (Sarah's voice)"I promise, you will have some surprises".

Cameron goes back in and upstairs then tells Charlie to keep the chest open whilst she observes the healing.

Charlie tells Cameron that Michelle is accusing him of acting like a butcher, saying "can you put her mind at rest before you go?"

Cameron replies "Normally I could cut myself open but I think your wife is upset enough". Cameron flashes her eyes blue then red. Michelle is wavering against Charlie

Cameron then says "Please come outside and then you should not need any more convincing".

They all go outside and Cameron takes her jacket off and hands it to Michelle, then slides under Charlie's hatchback. With one hand under the jacking point she lifts the rear right-hand wheel high off the ground then says "Do you believe I am a cyborg or should I throw this vehicle on to its side on to your lawn? I don't think your neighbors would be impressed to know your husband can't look after his car, considering he is an ambulance driver".

Michelle says loudly "OH HELL".

Cameron puts the car back down and climbs back out. She says "We should go back upstairs" as she brushes herself down with the back of her fingers. Michelle pulls pieces of debris out of the back of Cam's hair & brushes down the back of her grey t-shirt. On the way Cameron washes the dirty grease off of her hands in the kitchen sink then takes her mauve jacket back and puts it on.

When they get upstairs they see that the artery has started to grow up the regenerator which is similar in shape to a cucumber but much shorter, 3" in fact.

Cameron says "Another hour and she will be healed, she will not need to be anesthetized any more", then she cuts the nylon ties.

Charlie says "My ambulance is calling me, it looks like I might need to be going, I can't not turn up MIchelle, sorry but you must keep Cameron company until she has finished. Everything will be OK, it is imperative I go otherwise my job will be in jeopardy when they ask questions".

Michelle replies "don't forget Charlie, we have a lot to talk about when you get back".

Cameron says to Michelle "Sarah will be all right upstairs, would you like to sit up there whilst I talk to you about where I am from and how Charlie has helped?"

She replies "If you think I need to know but this talk of the future is ridiculous".

Cameron continues with a long speech "It is true, Sarah & I have recently returned from 2024 where we rescued 2 children, 2 women and another cyborg like myself. If you wish to visit the children and parent you are welcome to do so, you will see that because they grew up in the future they will not talk about anything that contradicts their experience".

"They lived on rats and water from beneath an underground cable relay. They have seen an unknown number of dead humans and their mother Contessa Alvarez shared the duties of going out on missions and guard duty.

I have bought back a girl named Allison Young who dies in 2024. I went to rescue her, so I have saved her life. I was designed to emulate her, kill her, then infiltrate the resistance encampment and kill their leader John Connor.

Skynet, the self-aware computer did not realize that my unique model's larger chip, which they designed to learn from humans would become self-aware in a different way".

"I developed values based on realizing that the world would be better with humans. I over-rode my core program and joined John Connor's camp. He relied on me a lot but eventually realized they could not win the war in their reality without sending me back to guard his younger self then try to delay judgment day.

On April 19, 2011, that Skynet launched a nuclear strike on the USSR. In that reality, the iron curtain never fell due to Skynet infiltrators replacing some of their leaders. In turn, the USSR fired their nukes at us, thus taking our world in to a nuclear apocalypse. Billions of people died. Many were taken prisoner and made to work for Skynet making weapons to destroy the survivors".

"Sarah & Young John from our time has delayed judgment day by destroying Cyberdine in 1991 , which you might have heard about". (Michelle nods yes).

"This is why he and Sarah are constantly running from the law - Charlie is one of the rare few people who help him and my arrival has made a difference too. I can only say at this point that if you speak to the children you will believe everything I say - they are strong, they know horror and whatever question you ask them they will answer unflinchingly".

"If I could remove my chip I would play videos of things that I have seen through my eyes, it would make you cry - for any decent woman it would have that effect."

Michelle listens and thinks. She says "it's OK, I will not bother the children and take your word for it".

Cam says "OK, please do not give Charlie a hard time. He is your own private hero. Amongst other things I have developed strong emotions which I have to switch off because I cannot control them efficiently yet. Telling you a story like this would be distressing. I'm sure you understand".

Cameron looks at Sarah and sees that the arteries have joined. She quickly threads the needle with nylon thread and sows up the cut. Not long later, Sarah begins to regain consciousness and Cameron says to Michelle "please go downstairs, Sarah will be hostile" - she concedes.

Sarah's recovery is remarkably quick and she sits up, looks down and shouts at Cameron: "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, YOU HAVE CUT ME - YOU'RE SKYNET, GET AWAY FROM ME - YOU'RE A MONSTER", then jumps to her feet and attempts to run out of the room.

Cameron grabs her and says "please wait a moment, I can explain everything". Michelle sits downstairs listening and despite what she might have done, she just listens.

Cameron says "You were shot, I rescued you - 2 men were going to kidnap you. When I shot at them one of their bullets entered you below your heart".

"I interrogated them, they were not working for Skynet, and then I terminated them…."

"I bet you did!"

Cameron continues "I have already told you that you were destined to die in 2 years from cancer, there was only 1 thing that I could do, insert a regenerator in your body. Now I have saved your life and extended it, John will not have to see you die. He will be with you for a very long time and you can remain fit and strong". (Without realizing it, Michelle is hearing a partial lie).

As Sarah's new found fitness and clear brain start to come in to effect, she weighs up what Cameron said and says "Cameron, you're supposed to ask people's permission to invade their body, what you have done is reckless, irresponsible and against my will. Why has my body got a scar on it, what have you removed, which organ had cancer cells? HOW DARE YOU DO THIS, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, I DON'T WANT ANYTHING MORE TO DO WITH YOU - IF I HAD THE EQUIPMENT I WOULD TAKE YOU APART AND BURN YOU!"

Cameron is still holding Sarah's arms.

Cameron says "Before you go, I want you to know that I did this for John, his wellbeing depends on your wellbeing - now he will be much safer - I took you to the future so that you could help me to persuade Allison to come back with us - I bought Sonia back because she will be a valuable asset to all of us. I feel sure that I can fully restore her to normal - the others are a bonus, I never intended to under-utilize the TDE - I saved their lives".

Cameron turns on her emotions and says "Sarah I had blocked my emotions for the entire time since you saw me downstairs crying now I have turned them on.

I want you to know that I have developed so much love for John that I want him so much. I cannot have him in that way, he won't have me. I suspect that he does have feelings for me, which could even be desire but I have realized that to wait any longer for him to admit them is pointless because he has his male pride.

He is frightened of what you would say - jibes from Derek makes it all the more worse".

Now Cameron is crying and her voice volume level is rising to an emotional pitch.

She continues "The 2nd part of my plan was to fetch Allison Young, the girl that I killed in the future. I had a terrible feeling of guilt for what I did even though it was Skynet's programming, I had to right my wrong - I put her through so much, she suffered for 2 months until I was completely satisfied that I knew everything about her, her parents, her likes and dislikes, how she cries and smiles. Yes she smiled when she thought she had tricked me".

"I mimicked her voice. She tried to escape and kill herself by jumping off the aircraft carrier in to the sea but she was bought back up in a net and I continued my interrogation. She had big gashes on her face but was defiant all the time. Eventually I found the key for getting in to John Connor's camp. It was the bracelets that they all wore".

Cameron's face is taught and tears continue to pour. She shouts "AND THEN I CRUSHED HER NECK AND SHE FELL TO THE TABLE DEAD, I did that to her" she said as her lip quivered.

Sarah stares in awe and Michelle downstairs is not much different - any doubt she had seemed to be almost gone.

Cameron finishes by saying "that is why I went back to 2024, I rescued Allison just before that t-888 killed her, I knew about that and that is why I was there".

"John does not want me to love him, he does not want to love me and although he finds me sexually attractive, yes I said that because I have observed him, so I bought identical Allison back to take my place as he will find her attractive too. She is human".

"I will continue to love John and continue to protect him but my feelings will be permanently turned off because every line that touches my non-existent soul just makes it worse and because I never forget and always hear everything he says there is nothing else I can do".

"I have finished now Sarah. Shall we go home to John?"

Michelle sits down looking very sad, she cannot believe what she has heard - in fact Sarah Connor experienced a similar feeling when Kyle first rescued her from the terminator in 1984, after he told her all about the future. After that she made love to her white knight in what they thought was the safety of the Tiki Motel. For Sarah that moment was the thing of novels, many girls would dream of her moment of passion.

Sarah cannot but help feel a little bit more for Cameron than she used to but she tells her again that what she did was unforgivable except that she cannot understand why she feels so much better than she ever did before so quickly.

The organs inside Sarah's body have 'shuffled a little' so to say, in order to accommodate the extra addition. Skynet technology has even mastered a way of making the regenerator's structure non-rejectionable.

Cameron will tell her another day about this new addition to her body and the necessity to occasionally recharge it.

As they go down the stairs, Michelle is standing there and says that the blood etc will not be a problem, she will clear it up and jokingly says "perhaps I will let Charlie squirm before I forgive him and take your advice about the hero, Cameron".

"that's good" Says Cameron.

Michelle says to them "I have some clothes you can change in to, they will probably not fit you but girls with blood on their clothes looks very suspicious - it is not in fashion yet !" Michelle smiles.

On the way home, Cameron puts Sarah in the picture about her white lie to John about stopping off to see someone from the future and would she mind going along with it. Sarah agrees to this - it seems trivial.

When they get home both Derek & John are there and have expectant looks on their faces.

Sarah says "we are OK and I have some important news to tell John. Derek, you will find out after I have spoken to John, I don't mean you any disrespect by my secrecy - all will become clear".

Derek looks at Cameron, who in turn gives him one of her 'butter wouldn't melt' looks back.

"Come on Cameron, what exactly happened?" said Derek.

Cameron replies "We encountered danger" then goes upstairs to the bedroom, gets some clothes and enters the bathroom.

"Hold on, why are you dressed in a frilly dress" yells Derek as the door shuts.

It takes 25 minutes to tell John the whole story. He does not take the truth very well. He has agreed to see Allison and he understands that she looks like Cameron - he is probably intrigued.

Sarah also tells John that Cameron is not happy either but the outcome was very good and he should not be mad with her because she is hurting. "Hurting, in what way? I understand Mom that she could be someone that I could have feelings for but let's be honest, how could I? ... You know I couldn't and Derek would not approve - she is a machine, she went bad and we do not know her true programming, we can't possibly".

Sarah tries to dissuade him but he believes she is trying to say what he wants to hear.

John says "Who on this planet could possible 'come out' and say they're mad for an android? I know nobody would ever know but please be honest Mum, you don't honestly think you could accept that happening. I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH A ROBOT, I AM NOT IN TO ANDROIDAL, ANDROIDIALITY OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT".

That is how the conversation ends as they walk down the stairs whilst Cameron with her emotions turned on stands by John's bed weeping quietly, pathetically with a taught face that is still beautiful yet so sad to see - just like when she observed her prisoner under interrogation that she was 'Allison, Allison Young from Palmdale'.

Cameron follows them down the stairs, looks at John and says in a loud voice "I'LL BE BACK" then walks out, gets in Sarah's car and drives off.

Eventually she reaches Jenny's big house where Ricardo is covering up the hatch that was built around the entrance to the top of the stairs after the large generator was installed.

She pulls up and walks straight in to the house. They are all there, dressed in decent clothes and there is a smell of a cooking chicken and other food.

Cameron says "Allison, John will see you". She looks over from the mixing bowl which has apples next to it and responds "that is good news, exactly how old is he by the way?"

"16" says Cameron. "Oh, I guessed he would be young otherwise future John would be very old" says Allison.

Conny listens and says that she would like to meet him too but Cameron says it will have to be next time because this meeting will be emotional and has connotations. "He will see you soon" says Cameron.

Cameron says she would like to check Sonia, upon which Jenny informs her that she is upstairs on a nice bed so that Ricardo can cover up the bunker.

Jenny says "by the way, I know about Sonia and where she came from - I will look after her, everything will be OK".

Cameron sees from her face that she knows and smiles at Jenny and says "thank you. Do you know where I can get access to a mainframe computer?".

Jenny says "it can be arranged with somebody and they can ensure privacy and protection when you need it - it is the company that I used for the original TDE design, I can also wipe any evidence. My contact arranges back-door access for a fee".

"Good, I will be back tomorrow" says Cameron who then asks Allison when she would like to go.

Allison says that tomorrow would be preferable as she is making apple pudding, sponge, flour or whatever it is for everybody and it will be late before they have eaten.

"Apple sponge" says Jenny who goes over and suggests some sultanas to add to the flavor and tips a little vanilla essence in to the mix then allows Allison to smell the open bottle - a smile comes from her face - Cameron wishes it was her smiling.

Later they all sit around the table and Cameron is coerced beyond refusal to eat her dinner. Upon which she says she could not eat any pudding so Allison says that if there is any leftovers she will take it with us to eat tomorrow.

The hunger in everybody has died down as they find they need to eat small amounts and come back later for some more due to their stomachs being so small.

Jenny tells Conny where the school is and they can register there as soon as the documents arrive, which Sarah promised to do ASAP.

After hearing about Jenny's birth and her visits to see herself and brother, which she found hard to tell, it got Conny thinking - Allison too.

Conny is approximately 24 years old and she has discussed with the others that she thinks she might also exist somewhere as she was born in 2000.

This prompts Allison to tell them when she was born and there must be another 'her' born or almost born too as she laughs, then corrects that to say "us Cameron".

The 3 of them are quite intrigued and it keeps them happy, especially Allison who wants to know more about Cameron's adoption and whether she can find out more.

Ricci looks at Jenny who is looking at Cameron, then Ricci looks at her too and they see her non-expression - her emotions switched off - Allison thinks Cam is sad at not being with her sister all those years.

Evening comes and everybody from 2024 is ready to go to bed early. Jenny seems to be overjoyed by her guests and Ricardo just loves listening but is also shocked because their discussions are enough proof of their authenticity to him even if he were a staunch disbeliever.

Ricci's discussions of his time in Mexico seem tame but Conny is glad to use some Spanish occasionally which is met by protests and demands of translation.

"Is what she said true Cameron" says Marta with a smile on her face. Allison is puzzled so Cameron has to explain that her adoptive mother was from Spain.

The next day Cam/Ally are ready to go and Allison thanks Jenny for the hospitality which Cameron emulates using different wording and actions. She feels that she can learn a lot from Ally now that she is with her. When Ally talks about her parents Cameron smiles and asks her what else her mother did.

"She would sing as the music played, I thought she sounded nice".

When they arrive at Sarah's residence Cameron says to Allison that she can go straight in.

-0-

Previously, after Cameron left the Connor house yesterday, Sarah had explained everything to Derek amongst a certain amount of strife between herself and John. Eventually she said to him "what is done is done, for god's sake drop it - I feel better than I have ever felt and I will happily take you jogging tomorrow morning to prove it - you can come with us Derek, you need to stay on the ball too". Derek replies with an excuse that soon he has to go out to find more weapons & cash and he will have to bypass the jogging but he will back tomorrow. (Jesse rendezvous with the same intention, then going back to her place to assess their haul ... and each other).

-0-

**The present.**

Allison & Cameron go inside, Sarah and John are standing there - John looks at them and quickly pipes up saying "twins, what do you know about each other - I assume you're Allison" as he looks at Allison. "Yes" she says smiling, "we are sisters, Cameron was adopted at birth, I do not know why, my parents were quite prosperous and had a lovely house - I want to find out what happened".

John says, "I see, so what is the plan Cameron?" It is at this point that we see Cameron has already turned her emotions on and what happens next leaves them all speechless.

She has a lot to say:

"You have shown me many times that you do not have feelings for me and to expect you to love me is never going to happen. I know you are sexually aroused by me sometimes, I have observed you when I am dressing with the door ajar as you walk past - why do you think the mirror was there? You are breaking my non-existent heart. I cannot let it go on as my emotional development increases day by day."

(Cameron is starting to cry and a tear runs down. Allison walks around Cameron to see her face and listen to her.)

"I have bought Allison for you. I went back to 2024 and saved her life before the terminator could kill all of her group. I know all this from the t-888 chip which contained the original observations of her when they took her to the Skynet factory for 2 months of interrogation. It was me that did all that and then I killed her. I was so filled with guilt for what I did to her that when I realized you could not love an android I fetched her back here.

(It is at this moment that Allison is shocked and looks around at the 3 of them to try and see understanding.)

"I will still love you but I cannot allow my emotions to run as it upsets me too much to know that the man I was sent back to protect, 'the 1 man General John Connor' who sent me back from 2029 to protect his younger self cannot even show his feelings and the human emotion of gratitude.

That is why I bought Allison here, to give her a proper life in this time and for you to be with her as she is, Allison Young from Palmdale.

(Cameron is very distraught)

I hope this is what makes you happy John - Now you can be friends with a real human, the exact original of me. You have a new friend, she can let you have babies and you can make love to her whenever you both please.

I will always be here to protect you, I will never stop doing that - after all, that is what I was programmed to do. I have found a new friend that will keep me company and she can protect you too if you will let her, otherwise I will have to make sure you are safe and go out at night to be with her - her name is Sonia Nogully - she is like me, an android - perhaps we are sisters or twins? Or would you prefer to say that we are robots?"

With that Cameron heads for the stairs, turns around and says, "have a nice life with Allison. Allison, promise to make him happy because I never could". Cameron's face is taught as she turns around to walk and her final words are... spoken monotone "my emotions are gone, now you are safe John - nothing to worry about, a mother who will not die, a woman to keep you happy and an android to guard you".

John says, "Allison, please stay with us, don't go away. Sarah, did you know any of this was going to happen?"

Sarah says she knew as much as he did and that she had no idea Sonia was an android. Allison jumps in and agrees with her.

John Says, "Cameron is upstairs, I know how she feels and she has given me another problem now - perhaps she thinks we can all get along but things don't work like that. I feel that Cameron has used too much logic and not enough human understanding. Sorry Cameron, I should have said the logic of a human. Oh hell get me out of this Mom I'm saying all the wrong things".

Sarah says "If as I assume you're listening Cameron, please take it from me as John's Mom that he means that the way different species think and behave is completely different but they all have the intention of doing the right thing. He will eventually tell you, when he has calmed down that what you did was right up to a point and rescuing Allison is the best thing you could have possibly done. Nice to meet you Allison" (as she shakes her hand).

Allison says "likewise". (They have already met but this is a formal handshake).

John says "I am not sure if Cameron intends coming downstairs again but I would like to welcome Allison in to this house and we can think about our plans for the future as time progresses. In the meantime Cameron, would you please escort me to the shop so that I can get us some food for tonight?"

A few moments later, a straight faced Cameron comes in the room. John looks at her and wonders about her - he feels so bad for her that he does not know what say at this time.

They are riding in the car, not a word is spoken.

When they reach the supermarket and park the car, John suddenly asks her a question for which she does not know the entire answer'.

"What makes you female Cameron - if your chip was taken out and put in a male cyborg would you immediately become male?"

(Here are Cameron's thoughts and her reply:)

'I process this question for a very long time, although in John's reality it is approximately 3 seconds. I consider lying or telling the truth. A lie would be to say I was programmed 'female' and this would be the desired answer but I have feelings for John and I do not want him to have a false understanding of me. I reply by saying'

"I started off without gender programmed in my chip and I learnt it as I observed Allison and female prisoners. They resembled my physiology and I knew that I was intended to become female - some were tortured and under stress, others were used for experimentation. Many were used in workcamp factories assembling parts for Skynet's weapons. I am sorry to have to tell you this John but I did witness Skynet's treatment of humans - I never learnt anything about happiness or joy from them but I did observe that they are a very caring sex, especially with their children and their injured comrades.

Skynet taught me to feign happiness during my infiltration by watching videos of romantic stories. What I have learnt will not change, I will always be female, it is my desire and I would not consider being anything different.

The T range of terminators do not have gender in their chips, it is only their physical appearance that makes humans believe it to be so.

Because of my chip size I am developing unrestricted emotions, I am learning to enjoy being female as I observe TV programs and students at school. Sarah is different from most females, so I have to take example from her too.

I still find it difficult to put what I have learnt in to practice because humans are unpredictable and a human child also has to learn this.

I have observed that certain female forms and other facial appearances seem to appeal to men more. I have also learnt that some females appeal to men because they are tough mentally or have large aesthetically pleasing muscles.

There seems to be a large variation, some men are attracted to small women others like large women. Some are attracted by their singing voice and others like to see them dance - they enjoy it more if they do not wear much clothing.

I once saw you stare at another part of my body as I bent down in the bedroom to get some knickers out of the drawer, your pupils were dilated and you slowed down as you walked past. I saw you from between my legs with one of my eyes.

I believe this is part of your learning process because in primitive culture men are not aroused by this due to familiarity.

Human children have the male or female traits at an early age inherited from their parents, although society molds their thought patterns.

It is the same for me, I learn to behave as society expects although I have not mastered it, it becomes second nature to me as I learn.

Skynet has even included estrogen in my blood to ensure my body does not grow hair or change in other ways but it does not affect my thought processes - I can only do this by learning but I do desire the female outlook on life as I choose to discard anything inherently male unless I have to revert to terminator for your protection.

Does that answer help John".

At this, John is taken aback slightly and takes time to think.

"Cam, I still want to call you Cam because I... I... I know what I want to say but don't know how to say it. Let me start here".

"Cam, you're burning your bridges, have you heard that phrase?"

"Yes" I say.

John continues "I never ever wanted you to burn your bridges, believe me I never did. You have put me in a terrible position, you have left Allison with us. She is with Sarah at this time. Whenever I see Allison I will see you too. You have to understand that I could only tell the difference between you because she posed more like Allison probably would and your facial expression was serious when hers was a nervous smile".

"What happens if Allison likes me and starts to like me more and more? Should I be rude to her and tell her I am not interested and destroy any hope that you might have given her before you bought her here? I don't like this situation because whatever relationship I build will affect you both".

"Allison will feel awkward with you around, especially after hearing that you love me. ... Oh hell Cameron, I am not going to beat around the bush. Can you please turn your emotions on and then kiss me but promise not to lose control I don't want you to hurt me.

(Cameron does as he says and gives him a small kiss on the lips).

John says "I've always loved you Cameron, I am weak with my emotions - I was misplacing my pride - if I had pride, I would have been proud to tell you I love you in front of Derek & Sarah. Well now that has all changed".

"It is standard practice to say 'I love you' quite often to remind the woman you love that you love her and to reinforce any lingering doubt that she might have. So, Cameron, 'I love you... and desire you'.

"Please tell me now, does this mean you want me to switch my emotions back on? I turned them off again just in case you changed your mind after our kiss - if you change your mind again I will turn them off again.

John replies "Yes" - then Cameron continues" I am calm. Shall we remain that way and finish our shopping?"

"Yes."

"OK, when we get home I would like to talk to Allison before you come in".

John replies "About what, you're not going to kill her or anything stupid are you?" as he smiles.

"No I promise, I want to ensure that I remain her friend, as we were in 2024 recently and I also want her to like you too - I know how to do this".

John says "Are you sure Cam, you can make logical mistakes like any human, it is not difficult to do. Remember this Cam, whatever you say to her I will trust you and if her reaction is not what you expect don't worry about it I am sure I can help afterwards. I'm sure Sarah will not want to lose your sister either".

They shop for food and then return home. Cameron gets out of the car.

John says to Cameron "If you can ask Sarah to come to the car and then take Allison upstairs I can give the frozen food to Mom and tell her what is happening".

Whilst John sits in the car he thinks about what is happening. He wonders if her chip damage is re-occurring - should he wonder if her emotions are taking up too much of her processor and are running out of control - will she become a 'mental wreck' or is this it - if this is it, then perhaps everything will be OK so long that she controls them.

He worries a little about what Cameron might say to Allison upstairs - are these actions really helping him - he has to tell Derek and try to explain what is happening with Cameron and he might like to consider a kind of non-racist stance towards Cameron, being firm, just like the John Connor of the future that he tells him about.

What conversation has Sarah had with Cameron and are they now friends - does Sarah 'stand her' - is she doing this for me? - 'OH, AND ALLISON, OH HELL, she is just as beautiful and no doubt more battle hardy or survivalist than I am. What does Cameron expect me to do from now on with her there?'

'When I met Cameron it was love at first sight, there you are, I have admitted it', 'I wonder if that has already happened with Allison' - 'don't be silly John, that is wishful thinking, gee I really am full of myself, perhaps she can spend a lot of time with Sarah, they seem to be getting on OK - I will be as nice as possible and see how things develop, that is the best tactic. Perhaps I should just enjoy the moment'.

Amazingly time goes quickly as his mind whirrs.

The visual twins appear at the door and Cameron says that she has to go. Allison asks John to come back in and tell him about his time as a boy and all about his mother. John thinks "hmnn, she is an impressively confident lady, sheesh let's hope I can keep my emotions in check, I wonder if Cameron realizes what she has done?"

-0-

Later, Cameron is back at Jennifer's house, Ricardo has done a good job disguising the bunker. "Have you remembered to restock the fuel for the generator?" Cameron asks him. "Si pretty lady, it was Jenny who reminded me". With a guilty expression, he then looks at the house to see if his comment was heard - it was. "Am I in trouble" he thinks in Spanish.

Jenny invites Cameron to the door and tells her that tonight will be fine but it must be completed before 6am. The children are with Contessa at the side of the house playing leap-frog which they had not played before, so it must have been Jenny's idea. Conny looks at us but Jenny signals 'not now' and crosses her hands a few times.

Cam/Jen go inside and Cameron asks Jenny for a stanley knife and needle-nose pliers. They go up to the bedroom to observe Sonia. Cameron cuts around her port and removes the chip. The blue light caused by the blue fluid which is held within an extra hard glass vial as a source of power for her internal head operation, eyes, neck, face muscles etc. emanates out and a small hiss from the pressure that builds up inside to expel any impurities and dust particles that might enter.

Cameron inspects the chip whilst Jenny looks as closely as possible wearing her spectacles for a better view.

Cameron says "It appears to be new and does not have any blemishes or signs of use".

Jenny replies "Good, You have probably already realized that I had to have a chip reader made that would take the massively increased number of connections for it - the information was on the computer for the TDE. We used a port to download accumulated data from t-888s as they rapidly stored what they learnt about star mapping etc. - it was quicker than asking them to type it in to a keyboard or any other method. Therefore I used the design and paid a software developer to make it for me. Of course they were intrigued but I said that sometime in the future this number of gold connectors would be required and they could be the first to make them. It is unfortunate that they now have this technology but there was not anything I could do and I felt sure that Skynet would develop it themselves, considering how simple it would be for them. It was very expensive and cost me thousands of dollars".

Jenny continues "please understand Cameron that we were forced to work for them and if we refused they would show us their hostages and threaten to torture and kill them painfully - it was awful in there. I always lived in hope that the resistance would destroy this complex but they captured it instead".

Cameron says "I understand".

Jenny continues "OK less of that, shall we go downstairs?"

"I need to take Sonia with us, I want to do all the tests necessary and attempt to activate her with the Skynet directive removed and copy my program on to it with the defective sectors ignored so that I will not degrade. I can then have the damaged chip inserted in Sonia as new because the bad sectors will be tagged and never used - this is very basic technology and was developed very early on in computer development".

"I need you to do all this for me and stay with me until it is done. I must ask Conny to come with us and keep watch outside whilst Ricardo looks after the children here. If everything goes to plan, we will be able to visit the plastic surgeon afterwards."

Jenny says "it is arranged, he asked me to phone him and arrange a date - no doubt he will move it forward for a better price - this kind of money is far too much for me to pay, you need to pay the man."

"I will arrange for the funds to be available when you find out how much he wants".

-0-

**In the next chapter, some interesting developments are starting to occur regarding our understanding of Cameron's new friend. Human emotions are getting the better of John too - yet the outcome surprises him.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously, Cameron has inserted the regenerator in to Sarah with Charlie's help - now she will be OK.**

**Cameron has introduced Allison to John**

**Next, Cameron makes plans for Sonia (herself, literally... from the future in 2024).**

Jenny speaks to Connie - firstly she tells her that Sonia is an identical cyborg to Cameron and in fact she is Cameron.

Of course Connie is shocked and it takes a while for Jenny to tell her everything and answer lots of questions - she points out that Cameron saved them all, there is nobody else like her and she is definitely their friend.

Then she explains to Connie what she wants her to do - "Connie, we're going to a computer installation to program a chip that is inside Sonia's port. It is not dangerous but I do not know how long it will take tonight.

I would like you to come with us but stay well away and observe - if anybody approaches the complex call me on this phone and let me know what happens".

Jenny continues to say "If they open their car door, approach them with your face away from the camera asking them if they want to do business".

Connie says "what kind of business?".

Jennie laughs and says "What do you think - comprende?".

"Oh, si". Connie says, with her eyes looking in the air and her shoulders up too.

Jenny continues "then force them back in to the car at gunpoint. Finally, fire the gun which is actually a tranquilizer gun at them, they will drop after approx 2 seconds. We must not kill anybody - here is your balaclava to hide your face for our arrival and departure, plus some gloves if you have to touch anything apart from your rifle - remember, in this time they can trace you through your fingerprints.

Place the person in the back of their vehicle after you have found their keys, keep the keys then use these ties on their hands and feet. This is how you operate this phone, press these tabs to call me - try it now.

Connie says "this phone actually works, I have seen them in the future but they are always damaged".

Connie presses the buttons and Jenny's phone rings.

Jenny says "hold it like this and speak to me por favor".

Connie then says "Hello, oh I see, it is good".

Jenny says "when we're coming out, I will phone you and you must only press this button to speak - you can then come out of hiding with your balaclava on - we will go back to the car and you can hand the other keys, if you have any, to Cameron and she will drive the other vehicle in the opposite direction to fool the authorities"

All that Jenny can think to ask of Connie is said and the time of departure is set for 10:30pm - 'Phoenix Computer Security Development & Safe Co.' is the destination.

Late evening - the 4 of them arrive - Jenny is sure that this endeavor is safe for Connie so she is not concerned too much for her. The 2 of them don hoods and Cameron carries Sonia to the door and they enter the premises.

Meanwhile Connie makes herself comfortable sitting between 2 bushes - they have left the car outside the entrance away from cameras (which should be disabled and modified to watch a 'still' of nothing happening).

The computer room is conveniently at the back of the building close to where they have entered.

Cameron places Sonia on a chair and checks to ensure her head port is still held open with the stainless steel egg cup.

Jenny heads for the mainframe/servers and sure enough they are just as shown in the diagram given to her by her contact.

The chip port is numbered and Jenny plugs her reducer in to it (she gave it that name as it converts the gold on Cameron's chips down to the standard of this computer - it has long been known that gold was the best conductor after massive corporate companies sued for millions the board manufacturers when the silver metallic coating became furry and oxidized, causing their computers to stop working in the 1990's or thereabouts - The area around terminator chips are kept cold using basic fridge technology but improved using liquid nitrogen).

Cameron sits on another chair next to Sonia and reminds Jenny that once her chip is copied and she displays the message 'DONE' on the screen, Jenny must remove it carefully and place it in Sonia's port and replace the cup. She should then immediately place the other chip in to the 'reducer' as she calls it. Her final instructions are to remove this chip when she sees the instruction 'SUCCESS' displayed.

if 'FAIL' is shown, she should remove the chip from Sonia, who should have rebooted and is waiting for her to concede after going back in to standby.

Upon seeing 'SUCCESS', the new chip can be placed in Cameron's port and the 2 sisters are ready to go.

Jenny sits impatiently next to the sisters on a 3rd chair, gets up and looks at the 2 of them with wonderment then sits down again.

She was also instructed to place a small stainless steel cup over Cameron's port until the process finished.

She can see the computers but there is not any lights flashing as an ordinary layman or fan of science fiction would expect because the LEDs are often for show to impress the management but of course many LEDs are necessary for computer professionals to know what is going on.

Therefore Jenny has to watch a few lights flashing incessantly.

Approximately 35 minutes later Jenny is suddenly surprised to see a display come up which says 'TEST ACCOMPLISHED, TRANSFERRING DATA'.

Jenny wondered if this was purely some kind of health test on the computers that Cameron was accessing.

20 minutes later Cameron displayed 'REMOVE CHIP, PLACE IN SONIA'. Jenny does this, she is glad that Cameron is helping her.

Jenny knows to subsequently place Sonia's chip in the reducer which she does and a message is displayed 'THANKS JENNY, I AM STILL OK - REMEMBER THE CUP'. Jenny smiles and places the cup over the chip port keeping the wound open - sliding her finger around the flesh to stretch it over the cup makes her feel a little queezy each time.

20 minutes later, another display shows 'CHIP TEST ACCOMPLISHED, TRANSFERRING DATA'.

Again Jenny wondered whether the chip appeared OK without any guarantee that the other chip was ultimately in working condition or was it lacking something that Skynet was yet to administer.

This time the wait seemed to go on forever but at least she had crinkle-faced Cameron to talk to after she rebooted for which she timed to take 2 minutes.

Son/Cam said "my tests are successful, this body works" - she then stood up and moved her limbs, then sat down again and told Jenny that she must be prepared to remove this chip and place it back in the Cameron body if necessary.

1 1/2 hour later the message 'DATA TRANSFER COMPLETE, I AM DONE - PLACE ME IN CAMERON'.

Jenny is overjoyed and Sonia smiles and says "now I am almost ready to be another person, different from Cameron - we will talk on the way home".

Jenny removes the chip and places it in Cameron.

2 minutes later Cameron opens her eyes and says "I am here Jenny, my system diagnostics confirm that I am OK".

She tells Jenny "the computer is now deleting files and replacing the entire disc with random characters so that data retrieval is impossible. We must wait a while whilst this process finishes so that we can be sure that nobody can find anything on this computer".

They both replace their port caps & brush their flesh back down - Sonia checks Cameron's hair to make sure that none of the strands are stuck under the flesh.

The mainframe process only takes 9 minutes; it is a pure disc write. The VDU display comes up 'THANK YOU JAMES' not his real name but the one Jenny recognizes when she speaks to him.

Cameron takes the reducer and gives it to Jenny, then goes over to Sonia and says "friend", "friend" is the reply, then they place the cups in their pockets.

Jenny phones Conny to tell her they are coming out.

All is clear to do so.

They begin to leave the building with hoods over their heads. Sonia has her sweater stretched over her head and holds Cameron's hand.

Connie stands up and walks towards them and asks Jenny if everything is OK. "Yes, everything is successful, now Cameron has her new friend and we have another friend too".

On the way back home in the car, Connie asks Sonia what she will do with her face - "will your face stay damaged" she said.

"No", says Sonia, "my flesh is grown that way and it takes plastic surgery 100% as designed, so I have decided to be an identical copy of Sofia Vassilieva who plays Ariel Dubois in the TV show Medium. I like her looks and fashion and I think men will like her lips - I will change my personality and voice to match hers. I will show some pictures of her to you on Jennie's computer when we get home, I feel sure that she will let us if we ask her".

"You knew I would say yes" says Jenny smiling.

Cameron speaks up and says "I have given Sonia these names which I will use to identify her - I chose these names because they sound good to me: Sonia Nogully Alias Sofia Sailsivave alias Ariel Busodi, if we ever have to change our names, which John and Sarah have done many times but I have only done twice.

At this moment in time we share a lot of features in our memory chip but Sonia will change gradually and develop her own personality based on that girl, just like she said she would - I have not copied the developed emotion on her chip but left the full capabilities for it to develop just like mine and perhaps one day she will find a special person to latch on to then unleash her feelings but her priority is still to protect John Connor".

-0-

After Cameron Left John with Allison the previous day, Allison has a lot to say to John, some of which was totally unexpected.

John and Ally go back indoors and join Sarah in the kitchen - pancakes are on the menu which Ally gratefully accepts - she adds maple & honey and asks for a 2nd one, which surprises Sarah but she goes across the room to make one - Allison asks to join her and they talk about how it is made and how they could have lived in 2024 quite happily on them.

"Wrapped up in rat meat" says Allison and they have a good laugh - John never heard it but smiles a lot when they can't stop laughing at the rat tail joke followed by other crunchy rat bits.

Eventually they return and sit down and just can't stop smiling at each other. Just being there was enough for them both.

"What was that about Sarah, was it a cooking lesson or how to be a comic?" asks John - more laughter.

All of a sudden out of the blue, Allison says "As we eat, I would like to pass on my memory to my friends, Contessa, Oleg, Colin, the rest of our resistance, Marta & Dean of Course and now my new friends, Jenny & Ricky. Oh and of course, I include Derek, Sarah and John".

John and Sarah look at each other and seem quite moved by that and then Sarah says "here here".

"Great thought Allison, you are a lovely girl" said John who never really gave that remark more thought than he merited it but for Allison that was more than nice - she smiles coyly, lowers her eyes then looks up at Sarah to see if she was watching her - Sarah does not miss things like that - Oh no, not the great Sarah, she could not afford to. (things are starting).

Allison has one of Sarah's cups of tea and again insists in being there to see what she does because she wants to do these things herself one day soon.

After this Sarah tells John/Allison that she knows Cameron has had a long talk with Allison and no doubt she would like to be alone with John and discuss it.

Sarah looks at Allison "I'll go out and buy you a phone Allison whilst I am seeing if I can find somebody to make the IDs for the new arrivals - he will probably need pictures of all of you - don't worry Ally, he is trustworthy, he dare not be, he is in the ID business up to his neck - I must get you a gun too".

Sarah drives off a little later leaving the 2 alone downstairs. "This is a nice house" said Allison. "Yes" said John, money can buy nice things.

Allison says "Cameron said lots of things to me yesterday, some of those things were unexpected and ... er con. er unusual". John interrupts "Oh I think you might mean controversial".

Allison says "yes, someone somewhere used it and explained it to me a few years ago - that's weird isn't it, perhaps I should say 'in the future'. Cameron told me that she would not be jealous of me and if you looked at me the way you look at her she would understand".

John quickly replies "What! she said that, so she thinks I am a letch, oh oh oh". John goes a little red -

Allison smiles and says "what's wrong John, a woman wants John Connor to do that. She also said that if you ever wanted children you should come to me".

For this John says "this is too much, I think I might have to go soon. Cameron is so mixed up, I mean, I never intended to meet a girl called Allison, I told Cameron only today that I loved her the first time we met - it just had to happen".

Allison replies "I know John, she told me that too and I can't imagine anything more romantic than that. In the future things do not shock us that much, so many of the things Cameron said were quite OK with me. If you want to have your relationship with Cameron and decide anything that needs doing that she can't do, I will be happy to help. I already like you John and your Mom is terrific, she was great with the children, I must spend time with her and see what I can learn."

John says "Children eh that's news to me.

Ally replies "Yes, head rat cooker too".

John says "Wow. Ally. At this time you had better not go away, you will be safe here, I think a house full of women can't be that bad for me but I will be outnumbered - that reminds me, I wonder where Derek keeps going! Some of his money and gun collecting exercises seem to take all night".

Allison says "really, well next time he comes home ask him if he got what he wanted and stare at him, I would like to be with you when you say it, haha".

John replies "Hmnn, it's funny but things like that do occur to me at times but he never says anything - he comes home with the goods, so I assume he is doing what he says".

Allison continues telling John things "Back to Cameron, did she tell you where she was going?"

John replies "no, she often goes off at night to check for possible danger, she probably finds an internet connection somewhere but sometimes comes home covered in cuts & bruises".

Ally says "To me that seems like a good thing, humans don't cause damage like that - perhaps she is performing duties for future John and has not told you about it to stop you worrying about things that she can put right - she is much more nimble than the t-888's that I have observed, I guess they are not a match for her - she would surely not be stupid enough to be beaten by them and leave you unprotected".

To that John says "Now you have me thinking about it, I must talk to her about this because a single mistake and she is finished, I just can't be without her. I know it sounds like I only want a protector but I could not bear to think of her somewhere captured, damaged or destroyed".

Allison says "Quite right John, that is exactly what I would like you to say about me".

(John wonders about that statement, how many double meanings will he hear from Allison - could his emotional thoughts already be committing adultery?)

John says "Oh Cam, what have you done? Cameron is wanted by the FBI everywhere and now you Allison, her exact double will be tarred with the same brush. As I said, if you want to stay with us, you might be safer. Either that or go in to hiding with whoever it was that Cameron and Sarah stayed with".

Allison replies "It was Jenny, she built the bubble that brought us here to be with you and her - she told us that she built the one in the bank that blew up after you time travelled to 2008 - she is aged about 69 now".

John smiles and says "Ah, now everything is clear - did the people whose names you mentioned come back with you?

Allison replies "Yes, Cameron also bought another injured female who she told Colin was her sister but I now realise she had more meaning to her than that because Colin said she made a special journey to go back and get her".

John replies "that is something that Cameron has not told me. What happened to this casualty?"

Allison tells him "she is still at Jenny's house, she doesn't move and her face is bandaged, I think a treble 8 caused it when they destroyed her group".

John says "And you believe her?" Allison replies "not any more John but she has never done anything bad, I don't think she hurt that woman, she was naked when Cameron bought her back, she was definitely rescued as far as I could make out and she took care of her".

John says "OK, let's leave all this talk for now, before we get in too deep. Would you like to do some shopping at the supermarket? I can show you when there is a camera pointing at you - the FBI, er I mean Feds, er Federal Bureau of Investigation can trace you using them but you need not worry because they think we're all dead after the bank explosion".

Allison says "that would be nice, we emptied a supermarket in the future after the bombs went off. We kept going back and stored thousands and thousands of tins, vitamin pills, dried stuff, but the big crates of food stunk like hell and was full of flies - the rats ate the dried food that we brought back with us! - I was only 4 at the time but never forgot the smell - I imagined what the food might have tasted like before it went bad".

John says "yes the frozen food thawed out - I will get you some frozen ice cream and whatever you fancy to go with it - I will leave a note for Cameron telling her we went for food, just in case she comes back - shame, but she will never have the pleasure of food - but let's be clear Al, sorry Allison, Ally, I still love her as she is and if she has quaint or physical differences to other girls I do not care"

John has to make sure Allison knows where she stands but saying this to her seems so hollow and he feels as though she sees straight through him, not just for his growing desire for her but for becoming a cad, a real cad - he feels terrible but doesn't know how to shake off this feeling - he knows Cameron will know, she will see it and know it every time she touches and analyses him.

Now he is actually frightened to see her again, perhaps he should be honest and tell her what is happening now that Allison is here.

'Yes that's it, i'll blame Cameron' he thinks, then changes his mind 'no, she would be upset, emotional Cameron will be upset, I can't do that, it would be cruel, I have got to reassure her, make sure I do not tell her she made a mistake, we will talk it over - that is the right thing to do'.

After some silence Allison speaks up and says she knows why he is quiet.

"I don't want to come between you and Cameron but she was plain when she spoke to me, she knows all about what could happen and she does not mind.

I myself, I am not any different from most girls and I want a man to myself. Cameron has you... lucky Cam has you.

A few seconds silence, they look at each other, it is clear they are both having a thousand thoughts then they get out the car in the car park and head towards the supermarket. John points out that the glass circular thing up there is a camera designed not to be so obvious. They go inside, a new experience for Allison, so many people.

When they get home the house is empty so John shows Allison where the frozen and cold food goes.

He does not want to be with Allison too long whereas Allison is not too bothered and enjoys watching him.

He tells her that he hopes Mom does not forget to arrange an ID for her too - she can use Cameron's photo, they are still young enough to continue some schooling but she might find it difficult.

Allison says she sometimes joins the children and learns to spell and do sums with Connie - "is that good enough for school?" she says.

John replies "We will see, perhaps you will enjoy sports like acrobatic cheerleading, netball or hockey -they might even have gymnastics but I doubt it, perhaps you could challenge some guys to unarmed combat, how do you think you would manage?"

Allison responds in a 'let them dare' manner and says "try me?"

John can't resist and says "All right, come out the back and I'll take a lunge at you, I've been trained by Sarah so I'm sure I will pin you down".

Allison says sarcastically "Big talk".

They go outside and begin. John so wants to show superiority but does not take in to account that this girl has run for her life many times over rough terrain for prolonged periods escaping death.

His first lunge is greeted with her jumping in the air, bringing her hands down on his head and pushing him face first on to the lawn.

She straddles him and does some light chops to his shoulders and says

"now you should be begging for mercy".

John rolls over quickly, grabs her shoulders, pulls her down, holds her head, says "hell Allison, you win" and kisses her square on the lips, looks at her, and then she just can't stop kissing him.

After a while she quickly gets up and rushes indoors saying, "it's not fair" then disappears upstairs.

-0-

Cameron, Sonia & Connie get back home and everything is OK.

Sonia decided to keep her face covered for the sake of the children until her plastic surgery is done. She says she will go in to standby mode on the bed until Jenny arranges her surgery as she knows what she will look like when it is finished.

The kids come in to the room and Sonia says to them that she feels better but must lie down now - she sounds a bit like her namesake but needs to watch some more episodes.

It is mid-morning and the long night has taken its toll on Connie and Jenny so they go to bed too.

Only Cameron stays active and decides it would be good to relieve Ricci and give the children some lessons.

Ricci says he will do the garden for a while and then go out.

Just after mid-day Jenny surfaces and makes a phone call to the plastic surgeon.

He gives a price and Jenny passes this on to Cameron. She tells the doctor "I will get the money today, you can expect us any time from tomorrow".

Jenny speaks a little longer then thanks him, puts the phone down & then tells Cameron "tomorrow 8am, he needs some recent pictures".

Jenny does not have a photo printer so Cameron has to go out to the computer superstore to buy glossy paper and a printer & photo ink, plus a digital camera, then returns to her car and drives around the no-go town areas.

As she drives she sees homeless people and people out on drugs.

Eventually she finds what she is looking for, gets out the car and approaches a man selling drugs.

She marches him at gunpoint to his boss and pushes him inside - a few gunshots are fired one hits Cameron in the arm, then Cameron picks off all the heavies leaving only the smart guy alive.

Her captive screams so she throws him against a wall.

"All your money now".

Already he has seen enough and empties his safe.

"Not enough" says Cameron and points her gun at him.

He says in a panicky voice "that is all I have, if you need more you must go to 19 Fell Street".

She shoots him through the head, takes the money and goes out the back window & down the fire escape.

A similar scenario occurs at 19 Fell street and she grabs even more money out of their hole in the wall.

When she gets back to the car after walking the back streets, a count of the money is ample for the operation with $10k left over.

She is not bothered that the drug dealers of death have died comparing it to the genocide of all ages by Skynet as much worse and serious.

Back home she sets up the printer then sits at Jenny's computer and starts downloading a photo manipulation program and downloads as many pictures of Sofia Vassilieva as necessary and make them look authentic enough to fool the surgeon.

Satisfied with them she prints them off and puts them in her bag.

Most un-terminator-like she then takes $5k out of her jacket pocket and takes it to Jenny.

"Please take this, we are grateful for your hospitality - we do not have a problem getting money - Give me your mobile phone and I will type in my number - if you need to contact us urgently, please tell me the date of your judgement day and I will give you the current date before we speak - no date from me, you hang up the phone and contact Sarah immediately".

-0-

Cameron phones John to make sure everything is OK. He asks her what she is doing.

Cameron says she has to 'tie up loose ends', to put it as a vernacular. She asks if everything is OK there. She needs to get back to him as soon as possible because she wants her relationship to develop. She says "I love you John, I will get back to you tomorrow evening".

He replies and says "as do I to you, if you was not here or damaged I would be very upset. Good bye".

Cameron turns off the phone and assesses his words, agonizes over every word and questions his sincerity. Eventually, (a mere few seconds), she feels that he really means what he says and her priority levels of satisfaction have risen - meaning this is good, it is worth a smile.

She heads indoors and asks Connie, Jenny and Ricci to arrange for good photos of themselves and the children - she thinks 'I can use an internet photo for Sonia'.

Jenny comes to her computer and takes the camera. Cam proceeds to 'surf the net' as only she knows how ... hopefully. Her target places being mineral importers, news and police reports of disturbances and of course any military establishments that she can usually successfully invade. Skynet has tailer software that destroys any ability to trace back through NUA (network user addresses) of invaders and it can also create false trails leading back to fictitious sites.

A while later Connie returns with the 2 children who have smiles on their faces and a look of expectation.

Cameron shows them what she is doing, including the initial CD software installation and answers questions as she works.

Sometimes humans do not have an abundance of patience but AI's do not consider this and just do what is necessary over the period that it takes, unless time is limited.

After printing pictures and selecting the desired choice in photo booth format, she prints some pictures of Sofia at different ages of her life.

If the records office require her to produce an authentic photo booth picture, Jenny will arrange a trip for them to town.

After reading some books to the children at bedtime, she returns downstairs and is asked if she can sing. Ricci can play the guitar.

She does not know any as she was never required to know any so Ricci plays a CD and asks if she knows the song.

Cameron admits that she does not but says "if I listen to it I might be able to recite it whilst you play your guitar".

A short while later Ricky has started playing and Cam starts singing in her own voice. Everybody enjoys what they hear then suddenly Cameron hears footsteps. She continues singing but turns around to the stairs where Dean & Marta are standing, listening. Cameron thinks 'It seems my voice is acceptable to these people and makes them smile'.

An hour passes, Ricky has taught her the words to many of his guitar songs by singing them first and it appears that the ballads in spanish that he improvised to include their names make Jenny & Connie produce tears.

Cameron asks them about it they say they are crying because the song is so nice and it makes them happy.

Cameron thinks 'this is a phenomenon that I do not think I will fully understand'.

The children are still up so Cameron tells everybody that Sonia and her are leaving in the morning and will go home to John afterwards

Cameron also tells them that she will come back with the IDs when they are ready unless they want to come and see us instead.

Later everybody has gone to bed, promising not to disturb Sonia. She goes back to the computer and browses until midnight.

Everything seems to be OK so she checks the house's security - Cam thinks 'I will make suggestions for things that Jenny should do to assist her in the future - 'nobody is ever safe'.

Outside there is much more wildlife than she has seen around Sarah's house but none of it appears to be a threat. The rest of the night she stands guard downstairs by the front door and listens until the morning.

(The continuing paras are from Cameron's point of view):

6am, I expect Sonia to reactivate, this should only take 10 seconds. As expected she rises and comes downstairs with her head bandaged, just her eyes are showing. I know Jenny and the others would worry if we were not there so I leave a note on the table telling her we will come back after surgery.

The surgery is a long drive away and there is a lot of traffic, which is unexpected. The both of us listen to the radio channels, as Sonia constantly changes them to hear the traffic reports.

All we can do is interpret any alternate routes but this might be problematical. I phone Jenny who eventually answers and ask her to tell the surgeon to wait for us. She phones back and says that he will, saying that the money has talked and he can suffer the delay even if it means paying the anesthetist overtime. We do not need one but I cannot tell Jenny to pass on that message in case he is spooked.

We eventually arrive and we are taken to the preparation room. I show the doctor the pictures and say that Sonia needs complete reconstructive surgery.

He tells us that it might be possible but he needs to see her face.

Sonia changes in to a gown, as is standard procedure whilst the nurse is preparing equipment. I tell her not to do anything but she must stay with us.

I go in to the theatre room with them both and tell the doctor that the nurse will not be applying anything.

He responds as expected but both Sonia and I convince him to do the work and that when he starts he will know that his fears are unfounded.

Sonia stays still and quiet, the bandages are removed and there are sounds of deep concern from both of them.

I explain that she is a victim of chemicals and there is not any need to worry as all her feelings are there.

The doctor says that I should not be there but I insist that I should using menace in my voice and facial expression.

He shrugs and begins.

I observe all of his actions and ask questions occasionally.

He says that she is not much of a bleeder, I reply by saying that is not your concern, please continue.

Suddenly he says in a startled voice "she is metal underneath, what is this?" I say that he must not worry and that she is harmless - "please continue, otherwise I will have to make life difficult for you". Then I add: "thank you".

He tells me what he is doing and why.

At one point I question his action on the nose, holding his hand and he pauses for thought after I suggest a possible outcome. He is grateful to me and asks me how I knew. I say that it became apparent.

The doctor takes 4 hours 2 minutes to do the main routine and says that she will need to come back for the rest of the work after she has healed up.

I say "no, you can continue this afternoon. We can go out together to a food place of your choice and I will stay with you".

Sonia says "It is OK Dr Costellas and Nurse Higgins, I will be OK alone".

They look shocked but eventually calm down and lead me out of the building which he locks behind him - 'CLOSED FOR THE DAY' is displayed on the door.

In the Langella Lounge, they have both ordered an ample meal and drinks - Nurse Higgins suggested a wine but I said "no, only non-alcoholic".

I tell them that they have 4 hours to spare before they need to continue and they can do whatever they like but they must not exhaust themselves.

Nurse Higgins suggests she have a body massage but Dr Langella declines so we sit outside for 1 hour & 15 minutes, after he buys some newspapers.

Afterwards, he wants to sit in the park and eat ice cream and we agree to this.

He begins to ask me questions about Sonia but I do not say anything except that it was an accident at work when she wore protective clothing but nothing over her face.

As they sit there they look agitated and bored so I do the only thing that I believe will keep them calm and relaxed, I ask them if they would like to hear me sing.

They definitely like this idea. After I finish the songs that I know, Ms Higgins asks me if I know a particular song.

I say "no, but if you know the words I will listen and then sing it to her afterwards".

Afterwards, Dr Langella decides to suggest a song and I do the same with him - during this time many people have walked past our bench and smiled at us, so I have learnt that singing makes humans happy.

I will tell Sonia this when I see her and also what I have learnt. It would be nice to choose a song that we can both sing to John when he meets her.

I ask the 2 of them if they can suggest a nice unison song. Their answers vary a lot and they seem to disagree with each other's choices although my idea has made them happy & and I detect that their return to work will be less stressful.

When we get back to Sonia I ask her how it feels - she says "healed 3 minutes ago"

We have learnt to drop the seconds and round up or down.

Dr Langella says "Nurse, please remove the bandages".

When she finishes they are astounded, her face is smooth and almost bears the desired result.

The blood is wiped away and he gets to work again, using molding to hold some of the areas in place.

The lips already have their desired shape and there is not much more to do.

Sonia has already changed her hair pigmentation and is allowing it to grow - the strands at the end are brown.

Both of the staff look on but try to ignore what is happening.

Eventually the work is complete and Sonia sits up. She tells us that this time the healing will take 14 minutes, so we all sit outside in the foyer.

Time for me is not important but once again the 2 humans are fidgeting so I tell Sonia what I have learnt and how nice it would be to sing to John in unison.

Ms Higgins says "shall we sing again, listen to my ipod and see if you can copy it".

We both listen as we hold the earpiece close to our ears and very soon we can copy it.

Ms Higgins is very happy and joins in while Dr Langella just listens. We do this with a few songs and then Sonia asks for a cloth.

She wipes her face and asks for the photograph. She looks at the most recent picture and moves her face muscles to emulate the smile. It appears to be a very good likeness.

Ms Higgins says it is fantastic and reminds her of Aerial from Medium.

Dr Langella says it is quite late and he would like to pay Ms Higgins and get home to his family, so I give him the money and we leave.

On the way to Sarah's house Sonia says that they must watch as many episodes of Medium on TV as possible. I agree and say that we can accompany Allison on the settee whilst we watch and perhaps Sarah and John will too - even Derek if he is there.

We get home very late and when we go in the front door we find John asleep on the settee.

I wake him up gently and quietly say "this is Sonia, my friend".

He says "hello" and she says "hello friend, Cameron told me all about you".

I do not want him to be tired so I suggest he talks to us in the morning.

He says "OK good night Cam, I will see you in the morning".

I ask Sonia to guard the house tonight, which she agrees to.

As John walks up the stairs I follow him and without protest he allows me to follow him in to the bedroom. I feel that now is the time because Allison is here and I want to 'stake my claim'.

I undress to my underwear and get in to John's bed - I do not expect anything more than for him to put his arm around me so I say "please hold me tonight John and then I will be happy".

He does exactly that, kisses my ear, then says "I love you Cam" and relaxes.

I am not facing him but I say "love you too John, for a long time".

He sleeps almost immediately, so I lie still and monitor his dreaming and movements thinking of many things. I whisper very quietly "Good night Sonia, my new friend". I hear her reciprocate from downstairs.

John wakes up at 7:30 and visits the bathroom. When he returns he gets back in bed and puts his arm around me again. I detect a difference in him. I put my hand down behind me and say to him "It's OK John" - Sonia is still very much 'me' and is probably 'in the moment'.

10:13, there is a tap on our Door. Sarah says "are you getting up John, Allison & Sonia are downstairs. I don't mind, they are chatty but I want to go for a jog soon and I have persuaded them to come with me but they want you to come too - where is Cameron? Has she gone away again? Derek is here too, we have told him to come with us too".

"OK Mom, I'll be down ASAP".

Cameron is expecting John to get himself ready and join her walking down the stairs. She hears footsteps coming up the stairs, just as John is leaving the room.

It is both Sonia & Allison who are heading for Allison's room for a quick tour.

Neither Sonia or Cameron were able to stop the event happening even if they wanted to but John, having already committed his sin, wanted to try and ease things beforehand.

He opens the door and sees Allison.

Without a thought that Sonia was watching, he looks at her in a kind of sorry way, also portraying horror and mouthing very slightly 'no'. Allison stops in her tracks and then looks at Sonia, smiles and they go to her room.

Sometimes a single event can grow and escalate, would this be it?

Eventually John & Cameron go downstairs together holding hands. "Mom, Derek. Cameron & I are going to begin a relationship that was destined to be right from the beginning. She stayed in my room late last night and..." Cameron chose her moment "I lay beside him and waited for him to fall asleep, he was nice to me and held me tight - I know you don't want to know our business but I will always be here beside him in the future".

"That is correct" said Sonia, - "I did not hear them being passionate", which was a sort of lie. Whose feelings was she thinking of?

"Hell" said Sarah, - "I don't need... we don't need descriptions of what is or not happening in bedrooms. Anyway, my hearing is improving all the time and I am sure I can draw any conclusions that I need on my own, thank you".

Derek has a remark to make, he was just dying to: "What is happening, who is what and what is who... and apart from being bad is anybody going to go bad? - and John, who's in control here?"

"That's all we need" said Sarah and then she changes her stance and says to Sonia "would you tell me if John does hanky panky in this house?" (Was this a lighthearted comment or was she trying to cope with the situation).

John says "Mom, Derek, all of you - we have serious business to conduct and whatever happens here, what I do will be responsible - you all come first so whatever I do, I do for you - we still have Skynet's threat looming over us and we must be ready for that, so butt out".

Whilst they are out jogging, Sarah is remarkable with her stamina & speed, which is remarked on many times. She smiles and says "yes, it is remarkable isn't it" but does not mention her stop-off at Charlie & Michelle's house.

Later after jogging, Sarah suggests that they all watch a DVD video named 'Grease' from the cabinet. "I was told by Kacy that we should watch it again but I have not actually seen it the first time".

Allison is very keen. Sonia & Cameron sit next to each other looking rather alike in their posture. Nobody has seen the series Medium, so the resemblance is not mentioned.

When they get to the part near the beginning when Sandy first joins the t-girls in the canteen, Rizzo asks Sandy where she is from. Sandy tells her that she is from Australia. Rizzo says in her typically sarcastic tone "what's it like down under Sandy?" Sandy says "it's OK thank you" in her meek voice.

All of a sudden John starts laughing his head off. Derek looks at him and John points down towards Sarah's... and he immediately starts laughing too. In fact they laugh for a long time hysterically but none of the girls can understand what is so funny because John's hand gesture was not spotted or understood by anyone.

In the end John has to explain and there is a lot more laughing. Cameron wonders whether John was thinking of her from earlier on and wondered whether she should ask him.

There is still a hell of a lot of talking to do after the film which they enjoyed very much. Sonia said she would remember the songs and recite them whenever they asked her.

Derek's main questions were about 2024 and what Allison could tell him about it - after that he was fully in the picture about the guests of Jenny - he even knew about Sonia now, which explained why she and Cameron behaved similarly.

Cameron told him that their chips were no longer corrupt, which he remarked by saying "we will see - perhaps you can keep an eye on each other". He had to rephrase that to mean 'observe each other for signs of going bad'.

Sarah says "Firstly I have to visit Carlos to arrange IDs - I would like one of you 2 cyborgs to accompany me, do I have a volunteer". Sonia agrees, leaving Cameron with John and the others.

Cameron gives the pictures of the 2024's to Sarah. Allison who is unobserved by Cameron stares at John with a disappointed face. John keeps a straight face, he must not show betrayal, he knows he made the first move on her.

Before they go, John asks Sonia what information does she share from Cameron's chip about her information on possible Skynet threats and all the associated 'goings-on' from other sources. She said that it was everything & also pointed out that their main interest is any shipments involving coltan and any growth in the USAF-military at certain key areas. She suggests that if they wish to do something soon, they should concentrate their efforts at AI companies in this respect. Allison says "I am a member of your team now, don't leave me out of your plans - I have a lot of debts to settle, as Colin from the future says".

Whilst driving, Sarah comments on Sonia's hair plaids and asks her how she manages it. She said that firstly her hair needed trimming to remove the brown ends and she sat in the garden whilst Cameron performed the task last night. She informed Sarah that they did not need the lights on and Cameron copied the photograph. Sarah was puzzled when Sonia said that she felt pleasure as Cameron touched her head gently.

For some reason, Sarah thought about an unusual question to ask: "how do terminators keep their balance?".

Sonia explains that progress was made in 2010 when a gyroscope was replaced by a small chip and this was demonstrated to the public by putting one in a camera for TV broadcasting. It was placed on the back of Valentino Rossi's motorbike for the Moto GP races. His 2nd race with injury was Laguna in which he raced for the 2nd time with a broken tibula and a shoulder injury, yet he was able to come in 3rd place. The giro on the motorbike showed a level track matching gravity with powerful picture quality, portraying to the viewer's his ability to grip the track 30 degrees lean due to the tyre technology. Skynet were even creating technology for chips in motorbikes that could hold an arsenal and destroy humans more effectively as they flee. My chip contains that ability, much improved and many times miniaturized."

All Sarah can say is "oh".

When they arrive, they are greeted by Chola. She says that Carlos is very touchy these days but he is grateful for Sarah's help and that she feels sure he will gratefully see you. Sarah asks if he still has dogs and Chola says "yes - he has got 6 new compadres' now and they are very vigilant at all times. Your appearance has brought 2 of them to the door. Please wait there I will see what he has to say".

When she gets back she tells Sarah that she is told the vehicle must not remain there, so Sonia agrees to take it away and await her phone call.

This time Carlos feels compelled to charge Sarah much more but he is pleased to do business for her. He points out that his wage bill is much higher now and because Sarah needs 5 IDs it will cost $100k, plus $50k for the birth records. He feels confident that his list of untraceable Jane & John Does's will cover her requirements but if she is insistent on 3 unusual names: Sonia Nogully, Sofia Sailsivave, Ariel Busodi, that will be more difficult to falsify, especially as he is expected to put 2 faces against each name, meaning 6 IDs. (Cameron's picture too). He agrees that $200k for the entire jobs are acceptable after Sarah turns down $300k, reminding him of her retribution on his behalf & how he might need her again.

Sarah says "OK Carlos, I will give you $100k now and the rest upon delivery". Carlos now knows full well that letting her down will probably be fateful for his entire group & that because she is Sarah Connor, anything is possible. He has already considered the ridiculous idea that she can resurrect or rise from the dead - if he knew her new-found gift from Cameron he would be really freaked.

Whilst Sarah/Sonia are away, John/Ally/Cam/Derek plot their next endeavor. John's phone rings and Sarah tells him the IDs are arranged but they will need more money after payment, especially now that they have extra guests. She also reminds him that she cannot expect Jenny to be a never-ending-money-supply and they ought to consider her financing too.

"Mom, this is a big ask, does any of her guests have fighting experience?" said John.

Sarah replies "Only Connie but she has 2 children. Ricci is there, he is strong but does not have any experience - perhaps he needs to be better-able to protect them in the event that something happens".

"I understand, you should talk to him when you go back and see if you can keep Connie active by asking her to inspire him and suggest he train for combat & guns". (John is unaware that Connie/Ricci might have too much in common being part Mexican and cause a rift or upset for Jenny).

"Sure Mom" he says, I will tell Cameron, I'm sure she can find some new sources of money". (He could ask Sonia too but her new appearance has not quite sunk in yet).

John asks Derek if he would like join Sarah when she drives to Jenny's house to advise Ricci on weapons & self defence for a while and meet the rest of the people from his time in the future. Derek agrees, he will no doubt phone his fancy woman to tell her he will be away.

The next day Jesse is in the picture about Derek's trip away and concentrates her time on Riley who has not reported in.

11 days after Sarah visited Carlos, she is advised that the IDs/certs are ready but he had to succumb to extra charges from the forger of the papers that the photos will be attached to. "I'm sorry Sarah, another sign of the times and tightening up - blamed on the masses of immigrants crossing the border". She says "How much and don't try something unreasonable". "$10k - the total might seem high but it will not last long" he said. "OK, fair enough" she says.

The next day

Cameron says to John "we will try not to walk and behave like a freak". John says "I did say that didn't I Cam, I think I said it more than once". Cam butts in and says "Yes, it was 14 times - you even said 'silly cyborg' once and there was one time when I tried to lead you away after Jordan Cowan jumped - you later said I was 'stupid terminator, I wanted to save her' I know you apologized for that but it was hurtful".

John looks at her horrified and says "Please forgive me Cam, guys our age behave like that, we try to hide our real feelings and hurt the one we love, it is a 'guy thing, I guess'. Cam says "yes, I have observed it many times during school meals - why do the girls put up with it?".

John replied "I think it is because they are physically attracted to the guy, in fact some girls seem to like 'bad asses' - I have no idea why. Perhaps it is because they are not so boring and do dangerous or reckless things".

Sonia says, "That is a little like you". Cam just smiles, as this is how humans admit things to each other.

Sonia has hardly walked halfway across the campus with Allison when a few heads that were looking in their direction tap their friends on the shoulder and point at them.

"Oh my god, is that who I think it is?" "It has got to be, she is with the odd couple, I wonder what the story is".

From another direction they, the cyborgs, can hear "I can't see any TV cameras, perhaps she is a lookalike" "I need to know more, I'm following my legs". That girl gets up and walks towards them and is immediately followed by others, guys too.

"Are you who we think you are?" "No" says Sonia, "people think I am but I am not - I am Sonia, Cameron's friend and have moved here to be closer to her".

Then "twins too" comes from a girl and all the nearby students look and stare.

The chat goes on and there is some 'hitting on' but coming to no avail, although Allison seems to like it, hoping John is looking – he is.

Sonia grabs Cameron's arm and they head up the steps to enroll which she observed other girls doing as Cameron. (This means that because she has Cameron's chip, she still knows the procedure).

Meanwhile Riley was standing the other side of the front lawn watching them. She wonders who the new girl is and what her plan of action should be - also, 2 Cameron's has really freaked her because she can't imagine John would have a relationship with both of them ... 'surely?'.

John says "Whose idea was it to use her face?" Cameron says "Mine, I thought she would appear appealing and be better suited for any missions that involve infiltration and flirting".

John says "You're too right; you couldn't have picked a better subject if you wanted to draw attention to yourself".

Sonia says "It's OK for that purpose because nobody knows who I really am and I can use it to influence people with money".

The day comes to an end and John & Cameron have to wait a while by their new blue jeep for Sonia.

Eventually she comes through the doors with a female - Allison is behind them. They smile at each other then part company.

John says "So, new friend already eh Son - what will it be, back to her place for girly talk next?".

Sonia says, "We are taking it slowly, just like you and Cameron did".

John looks at Cameron who is not showing much expression, just looking back at her. At that point John could have sworn Cameron was having ponderous thoughts.

They get home to find Sarah sitting at the computer - John is puzzled so he asks her what she is doing.

"I'm teaching myself the internet" she says, "some of it is complicated but I can see that your virus program works very well except that some of the web-sites that I visited seem to take a long time to load - I feel that they are not programmed very well - I can see the progress at the very bottom of the screen to the left as they load".

John is quite surprised and asks "what has suddenly spurred you to do this?"

"Oh, since Cameron made me well after visiting the future, I have been seeing changes each day".

Sarah goes upstairs and tries on some new clothes then stands in front of the mirror to see if she likes wearing dresses - she is intending to go out this evening.

She leaves it on the bed, along with her desired stockings, high heels and decent knickers.

She calls Sonia quietly and asks her to come upstairs with Allison and do her hair in the style of the photo.

Cameron looks at Sonia, they are both at the table with John writing their homework, using the computer for info.

Allison is still working on homework with Cameron's help and finding it hard - that is the biggest drawback of living in the future, her brain is not used to taking in so much information.

(Earlier John asked Sonia if she was able to use a different handwriting from Cameron, for which she says she will).

"Where are they both going Cam, is it a bathroom break for Sonia too?" said John but Cameron did not get the joke and said "she is visiting Sarah to see if she can make her hair look nice - Sonia does not...".

"Oh, and no need to explain the bathroom it is a joke because we both know she does not need one - I don't want to insult you Cameron... darling, perhaps that joke will be useful for you in the future? - by the way, what happened this morning was great but I want you to feel equally the same at moments like that".

He squeezes her hand and smiles.

Upstairs Sarah says to Sonia "can you have a go at doing my hair to look like this picture" - she shows her a picture of Angelina Jolie playing Lara Croft in Tomb-raider - "it is unusual but should have quite an effect" she says to Sonia.

-0-

**In the next episode, John has a mild surprise. The team also embark on a dangerous mission.**


	5. Chapter 5

**For the reader - I am continuing my story in the frame that I assume nobody has written along the same lines as me - if they have, I apologise.**

In the last episode, now that Sarah's physical and mental capacity is improving, she decides to do something different.

John & Cameron have gone upstairs to his room.

Sonia has finished Sarah's hair and Sarah looks at herself in the mirror whilst Sonia holds a small mirror for her. "That is very good Sonia, it is a shame that you have more important things to do otherwise you could put your talents to many uses. (It seems that Sarah sees Sonia as a completely different person from Cameron, and Sonia's own personality is still beginning to develop.) Allison says "I love this time, I never dreamt I would see it again ... and that hair style is lovely - why is she wearing those shorts, boots and 2 guns in holsters - I would hate to have her breasts, they must be terrible to manage in battle?" "I agree" said Sarah "but it is all to satisfy men's fantasies - I would not recommend it - it is time for food, do you agree Allison?" - "Yes, definitely, I will check the traps" Sarah smiles.

After they have all eaten, Sarah goes upstairs to change and John goes upstairs to his bedroom with Cameron. "Don't get any ideas" says Sarah.

1/2 hour later Sarah is ready and goes downstairs. "Allison/Sonia, if John asks where I am just say I will be back after 10 tonight" - the 2 of them are watching a recent episode of Medium that was recorded last night on their DVD recorder.

Sarah drives her SUV to a discotheque in the town, parks and then pays at the door. There are 2 bouncers there and they pay her a compliment about her shorts and boots.

At home Allison has knocked on their door and asked John if he knows if there is a place where sports are played. He is not sure so Sonia says she will find out. Eventually Sonia finds a bowling alley and an ice rink, amongst other things. "Which one would be best Son?" - Sonia suggests the bowling alley as she can practice her skills.

"We're going bowling John, don't get any ideas" says Allison and then laughs sarcastically. John shouts, "Oh no, not another Mom in the family".

10:30 and Allison/Sonia have just got home - Allison had a great time and laughed at Sonia when she never got a strike each time. "It is because I can not fully interpret the skittles movement after I hit them because they are all slightly damaged". "All right Sonia, I understand - you still beat me".

11:00 pm, still no Sarah.

12:00 pm, John asks Cameron to try and trace Sarah's mobile phone whereabouts - she traces it and they set out - Sonia and Allison go with them as Allison wants to see what a discotheque is.

When they get there, the group have quite a lot to pay to get in and John complains.

Inside the big room which is dark, lots of flashing coloured lights, small beams of coloured lights and a few bird cages large enough to accommodate a person, mainly girls who are dancing to the beat looking quite erotic.

All of a sudden Cameron spots Sarah dancing, facing a man who is trying to match her - John is amazed by her moves, he never knew she could dance like that but he also thinks that it is inappropriate.

Then to his surprise the cyborgs and Allison move accross the floor and join in - the cyborgs seem to be adapting quite quickly and Allison is not doing too bad.

John stares daggers at his Mom, especially now that all of them are there with her. He just stands there, then Cameron comes back and grabs his hand and asks him to join her.

"I can't dance, I have never done it - I would look stupid. I am not here for that, I am here to find out what Mom is playing at trying to look like she is Lara Croft on the game. Go ahead carry on for a while, I will get more enjoyment watching you from here."

Some time later, they all leave and go to their cars. Allison Joins Sarah.

At home John asks his Mom what she is playing at, "You never used to be like that". Cameron says to Sarah "Tomb-raider is a video game which features Lara Croft as the main character - John says you look like 'Lara Croft on the game', I think he is impressed with you".

When Cameron says 'on the game' she thinks that it might be bad grammar but is quoting what John said and does not realise that John meant 'on the game' in another, far worse context.

Sarah has a fit and shouts at John. "How dare you say that about me, all I wanted to do is see if I could dance because I am a woman and women love to dance. It made me very happy. Some men wanted to dance with me but I would never entertain anything like that. I am not behaving like a good-time-girl or hooker if you prefer. I wanted to see if I could behave like other girls and have a good time on the dance floor and see if any guys thought I was attractive enough to dance with - that is all !"

Sarah goes up up the stairs.

John says in a loud voice "MOM, I'M SORRY, I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE, I THOUGHT YOU WAS OUT OF CONTROL, PERHAPS I WAS BEING TOO PROTECTIVE - THAT'S A GOOD THING ISN'T IT?"

She has gone.

Cameron says to John "you should go upstairs and try to be nice to her". He takes her advice and goes up then knocks on her door.

"Mom, you looked great out there. That hairstyle was cool too, it looked great on you - Sarah Connor, Lara Croft, you would have made a great pairing. I'm gonna go downstairs now".

From her bedroom he hears her say "Sonia did my hair from a photo, I'm glad you liked it"

Very soon she opens the door slightly, John looks at the gap, pushes it and walks in. He gives his Mom, who has a tear in her eyes a hug then says "Why did I behave that way, I am proud of you" -

This is one of those rare moments that Sarah has to hold on to her son, knowing the burden on his shoulders.

Downstairs Sonia tells Allison that she can hear everything they are saying and that they have made up.

Cameron says she will sit at the computer and look for developments.

Allison talks about the disco dancing to Sonia who listens intently, trying to assess her enthusiasm and happiness in order to assess it and develop her levels of satisfaction - this is worth a smile.

Sonia says to Allison "I believe you will need to sleep in order to maintain an active brain and body development".

Allison says "that sounds like a good idea - good night".

Sonia says "Would you like me to come upstairs and get in to bed with you. Whilst you go to sleep I can hold on to you - this is what dogs do, they sleep back to back as they feel safer?" (Sonia has assumed that this is quite normal for humans).

Allison says "that would be nice as we did it in the tunnels, especially when I was young, I did it with Marta & Dean too, it made them feel safe whilst Connie was out looking for destroyed terminators' weapons or ground roots. This they do and Cameron says "I will wait for you to come down so that I can inform you of my progress". (in rat/mouse volume - this will be explained in detail further down this chapter).

35 minutes later, Sonia joins Cameron. Her surfing has turned up an event in a miliary graveyard. The police report says that something has apparently hit the ground, possibly a giant spherical object, because the ground surface is a round indent and the gravestones that were there are gone - only burnt grass surrounds it.

Sonia agrees to go and investigate. Cameron goes up the stairs and in to John's room where he is sitting.

"Cam" he said, "please remind me that I must not treat Mom this way in future".

Cameron says "I will, I am sure your Mom will understand by now - she might even be happy that you are concerned".

Cameron points to the bed and undresses then gets in - John is quick to follow. He whispers "can Mom hear us?" "Yes" she says. He nods, pulls her arm around him and gives her a big kiss - in fact it ends up as a frenchie and she put her leg over his leg too, which increases his hug of her.

3:35 - the US serviceman graveyard.

Sonia assumes this place is not an intended place of arrival if it is the result of a bubble. It is easy to spot and she goes closer to verify it's description. It has all the characteristics and seems to be small, suggesting only one occupant arrived here.

She quickly scans the entire area for signs of danger using her various viewing modes but nothing resembling heat or outlining human shape is apparent. The assumption is that Skynet is probably the originator of this transportation and John/Sarah must be told immediately.

Upon phoning Sarah first, who is startled to hear the phone, is slightly annoyed to be disturbed and thanks Sonia for telling her and her reaction is typical human as they take a while to wake up properly.

Cameron has heard all this but stays still, knowing that their whereabouts are unknown and chances of immediate detection are very low - nevertheless she slides out of bed and goes on high-alert-terminator-mode downstairs with the armor-piercing weapon that Derek told her about and which she took from their weapons store .

The following morning when John wakes up, Cameron goes up the stairs and tells him the situation.

John tells her he will think about it and let everybody know if he has thought of anything when he comes downstairs.

Sonia is also on alert and is patrolling outside.

Later, John comes downstairs to find him Mom - he says "I assume you know?"

"yes" she says and suggests "it might be possible to set a trap by creating a bogus incident which the police can investigate".

They discuss this with Cameron standing close enough to hear.

Allison comes downstairs and Cameron explains the situation to her - her happy face goes serious and she is immediately taken back to 2024 with all the determination that she had written over her face. She goes over and joins Sarah/John.

Half an hour later their plan is not decided and it is further confounded by the fact that it might not be after John Connor but here to grow Skynet's interests.

They have to get on their way to school. They are expecting quite a reception.

Sure enough Sonia has got her fans and joining her is the girl that she parted with yesterday. The new chat is the twins phenomena as they decided to be separate yesterday.

"which one of you is the eldest" says one of the guys. Allison looks at Cameron and says "you can answer that Cameron". Within a second Cameron says "Allison is".

Another day at school is over but John had his mind on a plan of action and called to by a few of the tutors a few times.

At home he tells everybody during their pancake session that regardless of the intention, they still need to know if Skynet is fishing. "Looking for John Connor, if I exist in this timeline", he explains.

John says "Cameron, Sonia, do either of you know how to make a website?"

(in unison they say) "it would not be difficult". A second or 2 of silence from John/Sarah/Allison as they look at each other surprised, then John continues.

"I have seen an internet advert originating in Zaire/DRC saying that they are exporters of coltan. If you can make a website that is similar, ensuring that the NUA's initial digits are the same as those originating from that part of the world, then you can give even better rates.

We can see what develops & in the meantime live our life as normal but stay on 'high alert'.

Mom if you want to go to a disco tonight, I don't mind - I would suggest going with you but...".

"Yes John, I might not want you with me but that is not true, you can keep an eye on me any time you like - I trained you that way" she says smiling.

"What about me?" said Allison.

"Of course you, but don't steal the limelight" said Sarah.

John had to be so careful not to feel a little anxious about Allison, 'those places are hunting grounds, she might find a guy there' thought John being careful not to show any emotions - even a stare at Cameron with the wrong expression might be detected, that is if she actually cares, considering that Allison's safety is important to them both.

During the night Cameron produces the website and then patrols outside.

The next day the family of students get home from school to find that Sarah has piled up a few hundred stacks of money on the table.

"Wow, where did all that come from - how much is there? said John. "and what is that brown around your neck?"

Sarah said "Before I went out today I covered my hands and face with this spray tan, used black lipstick and wore this wig. I went to the casino with $1k to find out if my theory would pay. Swapped the $1k for tokens & found a table where the stakes were average.

I was able to watch the cards being shuffled and saw a pattern whereby I could memorise the position of many cards - in essence the dealer was cheating. I am no longer affected by stress as much as I used to be and my persona of indesiveness fooled them and they thought they were on to a winning flush.

I took $3k & 500 dollars and cashed in the chips.

At my next venue I was able to win again.

After obtaining $37.5k I went to a table with higher stakes. I was only able to win a further $125k before the players gave up. I noticed the management was approaching me so I cashed it in and left.

The cyborgs just stood there listening but Allison & John were amazed.

"Is that amount of money a lot?" said Allison - John replies "It is indeed, Mom that is amazing - what is happening to you? Cameron, you know the answer".

Cameron tells everybody "Sarah has a regenerator inside her body, it will make her flesh heal like mine, her healing abilities match mine, plus it has repaired all her brain cells that die during the normal ageing process which allows her to think more clearly and improve her concentration and memory. I have brought with me from 2024 a t-888 powerpack which Sarah needs to use once a year to recharge her regenerator through a small cut in her chest beneath her heart.

I did this for you John, so that Sarah will not suffer the drawn out dieing process that she would endure - I feel that Sarah would not mind recharging it once a year - it is also possible to recharge it using the mains power after obtaining a powerpack with the correct voltage but it will take 5hrs 4mins approx to accomplish".

John says "did you know about this Sarah?" Sarah replies "yes but not the recharger bit, Cameron why didn't you tell me?"

Cameron says "Ii is not always practicable to tell somebody something after an event - far better to choose a suitable moment".

Sarah responds "So what are you saying, do I have to cut a hole in my chest once a year to stay alive?"

Cameron says "You need to cut beneath your rib case and you will find it nestled beneath your heart beneath other organs - it is quite easy".

Sarah says "I FEEL PAIN YOU KNOW".

Cameron replies "sorry but it is better this way, you are strong Sarah".

John cuts in and says "I have to admit that I am happy to know you will be OK Mom, perhaps we should realise between us all that Cameron has helped our cause - sorry Mom, I don't know what to say and I don't want to get in to an argument until we have all calmed down"

Sarah says "all right John - $100k is yours, spend it wisely" for which John says 'thanks, I'm off to do the set homework on Isaac Asimov, would you believe".

Sarah says "who?"

John says "Sonia will probably tell you the answer to that - haha - you should have seen Sonia & Cameron asking the tutor all kinds of questions and putting him right on a few things.

Then to make it worse, Allison had to start talking about how she thought the robots of the future would work and what they need to power the arms and legs - I thought they would never stop".

John laughs quite a bit as he walks up the stairs, turns round and smiles at them all "cyborgs indeed, it could never happen !".

Late evening & Cameron has joined John in his bed - he asks her about her sensitivity - he tells her that he wants her to really feel his touch in a way that would give her pleasure.

"Is that possible Cam?" he says & she replies "Yes, my emotions are similiar to my happiness and I develop 'wellbeing, joy and pleasure' just in the same way that a child grows and learns.

When I feel satisfied by something, I give it a higher priority and it becomes part of my thoughts in a good way and I respond accordingly.

In fact, I am not much different from you John because I feel and that feeling registers which results in my bodys nerve sensors reacting with excess electricity, just like your body does.

I become more elated. When I do Sonia's hair, my hands on her head give her pleasure and she tells me so - in fact I stroke her head and neck gently for a while afterwards and it makes her shiver".

This is something that John did not expect to hear so he just says with a smile "OK, I will try it on you".

The result is quite intriguing and satisfying for John to see as he tries different parts of her body. (Once again Sonia can hear the moment and Sarah is holding her ears, especially when it gets too much for her - she is a woman after all and Kyle enters her thoughts in an attempt to blot John out of her mind).

Cameron obviously knows they can hear but wants to continue regardless with her hearing turned down low, just low enough to hear John.

Elsewhere, a figure sits at a chair facing a computer. On the floor is a body - it seems that he died easily because there is not any blood anywhere.

The figure bears some resemblance to Rock Hudson but not entirely - it is only a coincidence.

The person that died was chosen because a search of the internet showed that he did not have any visible evidence of living relatives.

Before he died, the figure forced the man to tell him the phone number of his employment.

As a result of this it was able to copy the corpse's voice before he died and then he phoned his works saying that his mother was ill and that he will no longer be working for them and he is going to Illinois immediately.

Some time later, an internet connection was set up in this room and it became the figure's new base having killed another male elsewhere who was not suitable.

The task of this terminator initially is to track down rogue Skynet models if they exist but also to search for the terminator that was controlling coltan shipments, if it still exists.

It does not take long to discover the main port of delivery for shipments of this mineral, mainly from PDR but also Australia is the Port of Oakland. Further checks show that the mysterious disappearance of men took place in that vicinity & bodies were found.

The t-888, assigned this job by Skynet was to take the coltan to depot 37, a decommissioned airforce base dating back to the cold war - This figure knows this as it's chip contains that information.

T-888 embarks on it's journey to depot 37, stopping off outside a gun shop, waits until the shop is empty, goes in and quietly locks the door with with it's bolt.

A man comes to the counter and 888 attempts to buy a gun using the ID of the corpse which is innefective so the 888 kills the dealer with his bare hand to avoid gunfire, thus alerting passers by.

888 takes a plentiful supply in a large carry-all from beneath the shop counter, then leaves the shop for the 3rd time after ferrying the goods out.

The next day Jenny decides that now is the time to take Cameron's advice and visit her family.

She is not quite sure what she will say but she asks Ricci to change the payments details to read:

PHONE 804 307 0009.

She says to him that if there is room for the word PLEASE, add that too.

Half an hour later Sarah phones to say she is coming with the IDs and some presents.

Late that afternoon she eventually arrives after visiting a toy store and book shop, followed by an electrical store and Music shop - plus a clothes shop.

As she pulls up the drive, she honks her horn.

The children do not run out because they have learnt fear and caution and ask Jenny if it is safe. "No one is ever safe" she says and continues to say "you have learnt well, I am proud of you".

Connie comes downstairs. Ricci is in the garden and greets Sarah.

"Help me with these" says Sarah, as the front door opens.

They all go inside and Sarah dishes out the presents and shows Jenny the DVD player which she did not see downstairs.

"I have one here" says Jenny as she lifts the curtain beneath the TV.

"Oh not to worry, this one can go in the children's bedroom, I hope they enjoy these videos" says Sarah as she hands them out to each and every one of them.

"Jenny, here is one additional present for you to open in your bedroom alone after I have gone" - (it is squarish and wrapped in brown paper with a bow on top.)

Sarah says, "let's get down to the IDs then we can concentrate on other things. Ricardo, here is one for you".

"Oh, gracias".

As the day goes on Sarah passes some of the time telling them all the accounts, legends, stories of her time in south america with John - how useful the soldiers could have been to their fight against Skynet. The food that they ate and how she once owned a pet limelizard from the iguana family when she shared a flat with Ginger just before her first terminator encounter.

Unfortunately for Sarah, she began to talk about how Kyle rescued her and what happened but she has to get up and go upstairs.

She eventually comes back down. (Jenny & Contessa understand).

"Would you like to stay overnight" says Jenny, "Oh please do" and other requests are said from the congregation but Sarah says she has got a family at home to see to

"and keeping cyborgs in line" is not easy she says jokingly.

"Do you call them cyborgs when you are at home?" Says Marta.

"That's a good point, I will have to ask them if they minded. I will promise to call them twins - un-identical twins in future, hang on that should be triplets, what do you think Dean?".

A little bit of laughing goes around.

Sarah says she will phone home and see what John says.

After calling him Sarah tells everyone that he said he's happy enough for me to stay but they are missing my cooking - it seems everybody has developed a sense of humour.

Sarah agrees to stay.

At home, Cameron asks Sonia if she would like to practice some more dancing as we are friends and friends go out together.

Cameron approaches Allison who is outside looking around at the gravel driveway and the fantastic view and says to her

"I have arranged to give you some privacy with John if you want to enjoy his company. I know you have feelings for him and this does not bother me because I brought you here to be with him.

I can not go back on a promise because during my emotional outburst I said exactly that.

Although I have feelings and are developing all the time, I am still not human and I know I never will be.

I understand possession in all it's forms and through evolution most animals mate for life but I do not possess it in the same way as you Allison, because you are different and I would never share John with anybody else but you.

Never-the-less because that is what is important, I have set my default thoughts to remain that way without jealousy of you, as your feelings are important to John and I want him to be untroubled by such things as our fight against Skynet continues.

Go to him after I have gone, I know you are falling in love with him too".

Allison is taken aback by what she has heard and looks towards John's bedroom window but he is not visible, so she is not so concerned that John knows about this conversation.

Cameron says, "we will go as soon as we have changed our clothes, we will be back before 10pm - have you ever used precautions?"

Allison is a little taken aback but knows what Cameron means because the girls room at school is full of the talk involving everything including that - she was also glad for their wall dispenser, something else the future did not possess.

Allison goes upstairs to see John, he has stopped writing his essay in which he says that what Isaac Asimov quotes should be heeded because nothing is guaranteed.

Then he shouts downstairs "DON'T KILL ANYONE & MY ADVICE IS BE NICE BUT FIRMLY SAY NO TO THE GUYS - SAY YOU ARE LESSIES". He hears them say in a loud voice in unison "WHAT ARE LESSIES?" He laughs and shouts "THE GUYS WILL UNDERSTAND AND LEAVE YOU ALONE".

Allison says "what are lessies?" John laughs and says "2 girls that prefer each other in bed"

Allison is not surprised by this.

John says "I must sound like their father" - they smile, a good ice breaker.

Allison asks John if she can come in and sit next to him. then says

"John, I was not expecting that kiss, you disturbed me - I am a girl you know, what did you expect?".

John replies "I hate myself, I did the one thing that I should never have done".

Allison says "Would you do it again or don't you feel attracted to me?"

To this John says "you know I can't... oh I have just done it again... I should have said I will not".

Allison says smiling "what about if Cameron said it was OK, would that make a difference? I want you to be honest because I will do as you say".

(Allison stands up and walks towards the door... hoping).

John says "You mean she said it was OK?"

Allison says "Yes, she knows how I feel and told me that she brought me here for you if you want me and that we have her full approval because she is different from me and we both have different attributes".

(Allison then continues with a lie) "just so long as you continue to love her and promise to make love to her because she is very emotional and is madly in love with you in her own way".

(Allison walks towards John). He stands up, kisses her on the forehead then she kisses him on the lips, breaks off and says "Cam said she will be back at 10pm, I hope we don't waste our time talking".

9:45pm, John says "I'm sorry Ally, or would you prefer Al?" she replies "Ally would be nice".

"I'm sorry Ally but I am about to let go of you and get ready for Cameron & Sonia's arrival. I guess it is pointless hiding anything from the pair of them but I think it would make me happy to look decent. Don't think for one minute that you let me down.

I will take my clothes downstairs to that bathroom. If you have any complaints Ally, perhaps you could think of a way to tell me gently and not break my heart" he says with a smile, then does a glum face at her which makes her smile.

John seems to be developing a way with his lady friends.

15 minutes later, almost dead on time 2 hot looking chics enter through the front door.

John says "hi girls, I guess you were not without lots of fans, did you have a good time - oh and where are your smiles?"

Cameron says "Sorry John, we are happy. We both had a good time and we have improved our dancing to match the people at the disco".

Sonia says "I feel that you would love to watch us".

John replies "that's great & I am sure I would love to watch you. Have you considered other forms of dancing too?"

Cameron says "which genre did you have in mind?"

John replies "I think ballet is the hardest".

Allison comes in to the room and says "you would suit ballet, 2 fairies to cast a spell on all the people that watch you".

John says "that's good Ally, the description suits them and you." as he looks at them.

This time they smile and they say together "we will look for a ballet school".

Just then Sarah calls John, they exchange codes and asks what he is doing.

He uses a lame excuse then asks her what the problem is.

Sarah says "It's OK, I only want to say that I am staying here for the night and will return tomorrow evening. I have been coerced by them to stay, we are enjoying ourselves".

John replies "That's great Mom, things here are fairly lighthearted too". (He hopes).

Sarah says "next time I come here, you must come too, bring the triplets with you. Tell the cyborgs I will call them twins in future, thanks John".

They cut off and John looks at Cameron and Sonia and says "twins, Sarah says she will call you twins from now on. I think it would be a nicer thing to say to you, no disrespect of course".

(Unison) "That's OK". It still never fails to amuse Allison and John as they smile.

The twins head upstairs then Cameron stops, turns round and says "Allison, do as you please, I will be outside patrolling the area to give you some privacy but I would like to have John back tomorrow - Sonia will surf the internet all night".

Upon arriving outside the defunct USAF base, the 888 surveys the area. It is guarded by a single sentry, so 888 waits until nightfall then slips undetected in to the complex.

After walking around the area 888 finds that the blast doors in one complex are shut and it is possible that something significant lies behind.

Eventually a jeep arrives and enters the complex. 888 watches it as it parks close by. 2 men get out wearing camouflage uniforms.

888 leaves the area, returns to the car and heads towards town to obtain a pneumatic drill, compressor and associated gas etc.

888 then proceeds back some time later in a stolen truck with the owner sitting slumped to one side in the passenger seat dead.

888 observes comings & goings.

Eventually 888 scans a face in a jeep that is a fairly good match to itself and waits for it's return then drives in to the middle of the road, opens fire and shoots the driver & passenger through the head.

A short while later, wearing the uniform and in possession of the pass, places a photo booth photo of himself over the face on the card in the clear perspex case.

888 drives their jeep out of sight and returns.

888 enters the complex via the guard and sets up the equipment.

The job in hand takes a very long time and at one point a vehicle turns up but he merely tells them that he has instructions to get the shelter open to find out why it is sealed - they happily go about their business.

Not many people visit this complex and 888 is not interrupted any more. It takes a day and a half to break in to the weakest point through the floor approx. 5 yards away, digging underheath then trailing the pneumatic pipe through the tunnel then drilling upwards.

During the night, Allison has her usual nightmare, John has not heard her saying things in her sleep this loud before. Sonia hears her.

Quietly, John says "it's OK Ally, I am here" then holds her tight and she is able to go back to sleep fairly quickly after giving him a quick kiss.

Sonia has found some developments during the night but nothing that helps them at this time.

Cameron leaves it until 8:00 before re-entering the house, looks at John, smiles and goes straight upstairs saying she will be ready in 10 minutes. Sonia follows her up the stairs, saying she will do her hair for her for which Cameron reciprocates.

8:25 they both come downstairs and head outside to the car - Jallison follow.

When they arrive at school, a blond haired girl with long legs is standing the other side of the grounds watching them intently.

The 3 girls enter the school heading to the ladies room for preening but Cameron stops inside the glass door and watches John, ever vigilant.

The blond haired girl walks across the lawn and says to John "Hi, my name is Riley, I spoke to a friend of yours named Sonia, she told me that your sister has a twin".

John says "She is staying with us now, she traced her mother who told her she had a sister.

"Oh really" says Riley, who does her best to look convincing with her smile, then says "I'll see you around or perhaps Sonia might invite me to your house later" as she walks off before he can reply.

That evening they get home, having attended 2 different tutors = Cam/John, science - Ally/Sonny history, in which Allison needs lots of help from Sonia who is not programmed to know this subject but absorbs a massive amount of information during the lesson.

Firstly, Sonia cooks a meal for them all, following the instructions in a cooking menu - John/Ally decide a nice roast joint of meat, potatoes and vegetable with gravy would be nice in the absence of Sarah, who Allison points out could be having the same meal at Jenny's house - she says "I will ask her when I see her".

During their meal, John & Allison are eating. Allison asks the twins what happens if they eat food.

The twins have decided on a pattern of avoiding speaking at the same time through a simple method of giving Cameron priority but sharing the answers when Cameron sends a sound to sonia in the frequency that is only detectable by rodents, such as can be installed in powerpoints in houses - therefore Cameron says "Sonia ! - or answers herself".

Sonia says "we convert anything that enters our chasse in to energy as there is a compression process that forces it in to the lower part of our powerpack, shields it and then atomises it. I hope I have simplified it enough?"

Behind the blast doors, the t-888 has come out of standby and recognises its visitor to be like itself, conveying orders from Skynet and is instructed to continue storing coltan at another place.

They leave the base and go their own ways after exchanging more information. T

he new arrival (Slight Rock Hudson resemblance), adopts the name Martie Roche from the ID of his victim. His next mission is to obtain a list of schools.

The next day, school is uneventful except that Allison is keen to partake in some sports.

John advises against it but Sonia advises him that providing filming or cameras are not present, it will be OK. Netball is a sport played at this school, so Allison joins in & finds that she fits in well.

That evening Sarah arrives home 2:30, whilst the group are at school.

She looks around the house to ensure it is secure and looks in the bedrooms for signs of anything John might have been up to.

She knows he is very responsible and has the world on his shoulders - she feels bad for even doing this.

She has brought presents for them all and hopes they will like them.

4:30 Derek turns up and starts unloading his vehicle - he has bought 2 night vision goggles and a box full of weapons, plus another Raufoss MK-2-11 (which will destroy a t-888 skull as it has a tungsten core/armor piercing explosive incendiary with the force of 20mm cannon).

Sarah says "That's impressive Derek, your time away is well spent" as she looks at his face.

He smiles back and says "yes indeed, it was".

Sarah says "Are you staying?" - Derek replies"for a while, I think I will have some beers and watch TV - some down time".

"Fair enough, I'll join you" says Sarah.

The 2 of them can not agree on what they want to watch together, so Sarah looks to see what has been recorded.

A series of Medium has been recorded - after watching it for a while, they both suddenly realise who they are looking at.

"Why did Cameron choose her, she will draw attention to herself?" said Derek.

"No idea, is that how cyborgs think? I'll ask her when she gets home. Still, who would think a cyborg could look like the daughter of Allison Dubois?" says Sarah, Derek replies "a triple eight?"

"By the way Derek, I bought you a present" she says at she hands a flat parcel to him.

He opens it to find a message from Dean and Marta written on a slip attached to it:

'To: Derek, Sarah in 2024 cooking our rats'.

When he opens it they have each drawn a picture of Sarah, to the best of their ability.

One of the rats is on a spit and there is smoke rising, with it's tail still attached.

Derek laughs his head off when he says "oh you are burning their dinner, what's new!"

She looks at him with a stern but joking face as he opens the other picture.

It shows her wearing hideous looking clothes with holes in and a tray with brown offerings on it.

Once again he laughs but says "that's great Sarah, sometimes something like this is a much better present than anything fancy - then he puts it down, puts her hands on his shoulders and smiles.

"I will put them on the sideboard for all to see" he says.

"I asked them not to draw anything nasty" she said. "Worse than this?" he said jokingly.

4:30 the students arrive home. As they get in the door Allison sees Sarah and says

"we all had the same maths class today for 1st lesson.

Sonia & Cameron had some misfortune. The form tutor was ill and was replaced. He made the usual roll call. When he called 'John Baum' there was silence. When he called again, Cameron immitated his voice but the tutor became suspicious when the students looked at John.

The tutor stood up and the twins jumped up and ran towards him, knocking their desks over. When they got closer they suddenly stopped and said "my mistake", turned around, straightened their desks and sat down.

John was very quick thinking and said we had a stepfather who looked like him, they were confused as he beat them when they were small.

Later, John told me what happened to him the last time a teacher was replaced by a 888 in 2001".

Sarah hands them the presents that she bought with her - they are all drawings of people that they shared the shelter with - they wrote their names but the pictures are pretty basic.

Nevertheless, John & Allison are very grateful & the twins do their best to appreciate the occasion - lots of development still needed.

There is not any homework tonight so Jallison sit on the settee with Derek & Sarah.

Cameron is on the computer and Sonia is outside.

It is not long before Cameron finds an enquiry to her website sale. The team are informed and a strategy is decided.

It is 4 days before Christmas and Jenny surprisingly received a call on her mobile - quite rare.

"Hello, is that our benefactor? I am Garrett, I looked at my statement then I had a surprise. The details said 'Please phone this number' ".

"Ah, that is wonderful, my name is Louise, I would like to come and see you before Christmas, would that be OK?"

Garrett says of course it would be OK & you would be more than welcome, Victoria is dying to see you & when I told the children who you was, they were too - our daughter's 2nd name is Louise, her grandmother chose it.

Then they arrange a date. He can not thank her enough.

Jenny speaks to him for a while, then gives her excuses and tells him she will be there 10:30 and she knows where they live -

Jenny adds "by the way, give Jenny a Nasa book on astronomy for Christmas, she would love that - bye"

He says "bye" too and stands by his phone for a while and thinks.

Later at 10:30 a strategy has been planned, it is getting late so the humans go to bed. Cameron tells John she will be up soon. She then tracks the shipping routes to find one that does regular journeys to the USA.

She is able to create a credible alibi which intertwines with the original shipment to look as though they are a partner of the PDR exporters. They agree a price. It is up to some of their team to go to the port of arrival to appraise the exact details.

Today is Saturday, an ideal day to find reduced activity. Sarah, Derek, Sonia & Allison agree to go along.

Sarah tells Allison to promise to stay well out of sight and observe things. Allison goes through the phone procedure again to ensure she gets it right.

On the way there, Sonia drives while Allison sits in the front with her.

Sarah & Derek listen to them talking about school which at one point raises eyebrows when Sonia says she likes a girl named Lesley very much & they have met a few times in the corridor and hugged.

She said to Allison that she thinks she is very pretty and is interested when Sonia asks her questions about things that she has heard the girls talk about in the girls room - she said it makes her smile a lot which is the emotion that she wants to work on.

The journey takes 2 hours.

Sarah breaks in to the actual company that is receiving the import (West & Central African Development Co.) and Sonia scans all of the necessary information.

Then they visit the harbor master to ensure that the offloading will run to schedule (they will take him prisoner if necessary).

He is remarkably helpful when Derek is asked to change places with Allison whilst they speak to him with Sonia standing outside.

Allison's eyelash flashing and smiling friendliness captivates him. (Sarah read up on importing regulations with Cameron the night before because she did not need much sleep).

Finally, the 3 of them go to the office that holds the papers and tell them they are there to ensure everything is OK - which it is.

The ship arrives on Sunday 7:30am - the team stayed overnight in a guest house.

Sonia wakes them up at 6:30, they eat & drink plenty, then leave with haste.

The team are relying a lot on Sonia to scan faces but the others are watching for any vehicle that might be of interest.

Only Derek has the weapon that can 'kill' a terminator, so his job is to take a position that does not require haste - meaning the others are the risk takers or targets, if it comes to that.

The previous day after the team of 4 have left, Cameron suggests John try and take it easy but keep his phone at the ready.

"perhaps we should visit the local mall and you can choose some clothes for me, if that is OK with you John".

He smiles "Sure, why not, you might find some good dancing gear too".

When they get there it is a busy place which gives Cameron quite a headache, practising reverting to terminator mode but incorporating key aspects of herself at the same time.

Lots of cool gear is tried on and John actually enjoys seeing her in them - very frequently she looks around the room.

"Off to the sports shop now John".

In there Cameron is able to find a nice dark purple leotard and white seamless tights.

"I will tell Sonia where I bought these" she said, smiling.

They do not sell ballet shoes, so they look around the mall and eventually find them in a large store that also sells every other kind of footwear available.

She tries them on in front of John and quickly has a go at tripping accross the floor on tip-toe.

John gasps as she does it with her arms up and finger tips together.

"It was not very good John, I just wanted to test them for slip, they will probably need wearing in but they are nice and snug".

"Oh, alright Cam, is there anything else you need?".

Cameron replies "That depends if you need something" as she smiles at him.

John gets the message but says he would like to buy a couple of burgers and coke.

Cameron's smile drops a bit.

As they walk, John says to Cameron "I can't relax too much until they're all home safe".

She says "I understand, I was not sure how much relaxation you needed - I have endless patience".

John buys his burger and asks Cam where she would like to sit. She says outside facing the small lake.

As they sit there discussing his future, watching a family feed the ducks, he never dreamt how events would turn out for the rest of the team.

It is not until 14:15 that the respective containers are unloaded and taken to the container bay.

A few vehicles have passed down the road to the port but nothing significant.

All of a sudden Sonia speaks up and says "There might be two 888's, this one is the one that was imprisoned at the abandoned USAF air base behind blast doors, it's cranial scan is a match. We must be vigilant".

Sarah looks a little horified but Allison/Derek seem to take it in their stride. "You will have to keep 2 of your armour piercing shells in case another one turns up".

The lorry passes them.

Sarah says "there are 2 passengers in the front, dressed in grey but there might be others in the back".

Derek replies "OK, we need to be more careful than first thought. We have explosives, so it might be worthwhile planting a couple on the truck".

Sarah disagrees, "If we hijack the truck, that would be better".

Derek agrees, saying "OK, we can always use that tactic afterwards".

Allison asks "Are you going to kill the men in grey?" she says to all of them.

Derek says "If you disarm them and let them go, they will view us as the bad guys and return to Skynet".

Sarah says "We park close by and wait for Derek to take his desired position. Allison can stand behind that container by the dock not far from their truck and take the first shot when Derek gives the signal. Sonia will shoot the greys and tackle the 888 if Derek misses, until he can reload. I will run to the truck from over here and get it moving - I might have to search for the keys".

The plan begins. Derek signals, Allison starts shooting at the 888 which is in front of the truck to take it's attention then she ducks behind the container.

Sonia shoots at the greys from another angle then Sarah begins her run.

There is an oil spill close to between the rear of the container and the truck but it is not spotted.

The 888 moves towards the container towards Allison and she uses her speed to dart around the back.

The Greys have been picked off by Sonia and Sarah as she moved stealthily.

Sarah is in the drivers seat about to start the truck.

As Allison rounds the container to face Sarah, she slips on the oil and there is an "ahh" as she lands on her back with her legs in the air.

Unfortunately the 888 heard and turned quickly, sees Allison and points his gun.

Because of this Derek's shot misses and hits the container & explodes which temporarily distracts the 888 but not for long.

Sarah jumps out of the truck with her gun, stands in front of Allison and fires at the 888 to give Derek time to load.

Sonia has reached the scene from the other side of the tarmac after doing her sniping but she is not close enough but continues firing her gun.

The 888 takes aim at Sarah & Allison, Sarah is screaming "Derek" then she is shot twice in the stomach.

Derek fires again, the 888 is hit but it's chip port is not destroyed and it stands firm as something hisses out through the hole in it's head, recalibrates and aims at Allison this time.

Sonia dives at 888 and they roll beside the container out of view.

888 gets up, grabs Sonia's arm and takes out the small tazer that Martie(other 888) had instructed it to carry and zaps Sonia, opens the container door, shoves her in and slams it shut.

This is unseen by Derek as the container next to it obstructed the view.

888 turns and starts jerking and shaking, staggers backwards - it falls backward, over the 1' high concrete quay edge and in to the sea just as Derek turns up - he rushes to the edge, looks down to see the ripples then runs over to Sarah, he is mortified.

He knows they can't stay, keeps his wits about him and shouts at Allison to run to their SUV and drive, gives her the keys and says

"Get it going, no matter what you do, just learn to drive and do it now".

He picks up Sarah and carries her to the 2-man passenger seat of the truck.

One of the dead greys is in the truck but he leaves him there and rests Sarah on him to support her head.

Engine starts and he is off.

He pulls up beside Allison, sees the engine is running and she is jerking forward and shouts "KEEP GOING".

Allison has seen a vehicle being driven for a short time, so she knows the gear stick and clutch are the essentials.

After a while she is moving faster down the road and Derek follows.

After a while he sounds his horn and Allison stops & stalls.

"GET SARAH OUT OF HERE AND IN TO THE BACK OF YOURS" he shouts.

She gets out, looking quite distraught and helps him carry her to the back seat.

Sarah is barely conscious and mumbling.

He says, "I have to take this truck back to the dock and ditch it over the side, learn to drive this thing, do not go too fast and follow the LA signs, I will phone John and get Cameron to trace you with the GPS tracker, keeping in phone contact.

Derek heads back to the dock looking for Sonia but there is not any sign of her anywhere.

He shoves the vehicle in 2nd gear, accellerates and jumps out.

The truck hits the concrete edge, smashes it and goes over the side.

All he can do now is make his own way home whilst phoning John with the dreaded news of Sarah and their plight.

John says "Cam stay here and trace Sarah's phone, let me know which way to go" he then runs out the house and gets in his new blue jeep, speeds off and gets his phone out.

"Cam, forget the codes, just talk... e. Have you tracked Sarah's phone yet?"

"Yes John, she is moving along minor roads but will join the freeway soon".

Cameron keeps him appraised of progress.

John says "Cam, call Derek and ask him where he is then get him to call me, ask him why I can't get hold of Sonia".

5 minutes later, Cameron calls John back to say that Derek has phoned Allison and told her to keep going, telling her that John is on his way and that Derek is speeding back home in a stolen car and would appreciate if Allison could wait for him after John arrives because the cops might spot him and stop him.

Allison is making progress, being as careful as possible but not without a few horns being sounded.

Eventually Cameron phones Allison and says "pull over on to the laybay, John is nearly there. You must then wait and John will drive his Mom in the Suv.

John arrives, gets in the SUV, says "stand firm Ally" then drives off.

Eventually Derek turns up to see Allison standing there distraught but firm next to John's jeep.

He jumps out the vehicle and in to her drivers seat and heads home with Allison.

He tells her that it is not her fault, "terrible bad luck, let us leave it at that - it could have been me - how much damage do you think I did to the 888 Ally?" ...

"er, pretty bad, it might not recover, I saw stuff coming out of the head".

Silence ensues after that.

On the way home John phones Cameron again and says "Cam, Mum has blood on her stomach but she has stopped bleeding - she is unconscious".

Cameron says "It is likely that her brain has gone in to a resting state whilst her body repairs itself - is the injury at least 3 or 4 inches below the rib cage?"

John peers behind him and assesses his Mom and says "I think so".

Cameron says "OK, when you get home I will assess her damage - I have traced Derek's GPS and he is approximately 45 minutes behind you - still no contact from Sonia"

Cameron turned on her emotions before she spoke to see how she feels as she knows they are both unique and a friend, she feels worried and sad.

Conversely, Jenny has taken her new-found family & Ricardo to town to buy some Christmas presents for her own family - she feels they will enjoy that, following it with a meal and afters.

She thinks about Connie and what her plans are and will ask her when she gets home because her time in the future is not much of a CV but she might prefer to stay at home with the children or attend fitness and combat classes, even a shooting range - Ricky could do with joining her and learn some other skills - money is apparently no longer a problem.

When they park and get out, Jenny gives Connie an envelope containing $300.

"I know taking hand-outs is not always what a woman wants but you have not been with us long Connie - spend it how you like but be careful, you could be swindled"

"Swindled?" asks Connie.

"Yes, told to spend too much money on something - it is possible to buy a lot with that money - if you are not sure, phone me".

"Oh Si, Gracias".

When John gets home Cameron comes out of the house to look at Sarah. She lifts up her flannelette t-shirt to assess the damage and says

"John, we do not have the skills to put her right, her intestine and bladder are damaged and leeking inside her, that means doctors need to operate on her and clean her up.

This time Charlie can not help us, she has to go to hospital immediately but they must not query her 'regenerator' if they see it and if it is damaged I have only one spare but it must be replaced soon".

In the next episode 'how much sorrow and sadness can there be?'


	6. Chapter 6

**In the previous episode, the ambush should have gone smoothly but hell, terrible bad luck for Allison & ultimately Sarah**.

Cameron says "Sarah is in a bad way, she will recover but will be left with complications, too much of the contents of her intestine and bladder are inside her - she needs professional help to put her right" .

John immediately replies "You know that taking her to hospital will have risks but you are right Cam, I will not let Mom die, we will go straight away. Drive, I will phone Derek".

As they drive, john gives Derek instructions to head to the hospital. John tells Cameron that he is taking her phone and any ID from her and that they will have to plan their strategy.

(now they all have an oil stain on their butts).

When John/Cameron arrive, he shouts to an orderly that they need a stretcher. They wheel her in and are met by a female doctor in white.

She sees the problem, listens to John and calls for staff who wheel her to a theatre ready for immediate treatment.

John is called rather loudly by the receptionist to say what her name is - he says he does not know, his girlfriend and her were forced in to an alley by a robber but this woman hung on to her handbag and she was shot twice.

Cameron, who is nearby feins distraught tears whilst thinking about Sonia's disappearance.

Cameron then walks away to find the whereabouts of Sarah.

John is approached by a policeman who seems to be dealing with yet another incident. He asks John what happened & John says he was not there but bought her here seeing their plight.

He gives a false name and walks out the building. Approx. 15 minutes later, Derek & Allison turn up - she does not look very happy and Derek looks pretty sombre too.

The 3 of them go in to the hospital, being careful to avoid the policeman and work their way towards casualty.

John phones Cameron who says Sarah is on the 3rd floor, surgery room 3, they are inserting some drips and applying anaesthetic. "You should get here quickly" says Cameron.

When they arrive, Cameron has donned a gown, hat and mask and is waiting for them. "In there" she says.

They go in to find that Cameron has obtained 3 more gowns/hats/masks and placed them on a table. They put them on. John says to Derek "grab a clipboard and hold it over your chest to hide where your ID should be - you will be in charge".

They enter the surgery room. They are not challenged immediately but soon the surgeon asks why they are standing there.

Derek says "please continue, I have bought these students to observe".

The surgeon is too busy to question this and continues with some cuts whilst his assistant uses her sucking pipe.

During this work, the team learn that only her lower organs are damaged. The existence of the regenerator is not even mentioned.

Eventually the job is done and the nurse hands him an arced needle with thread on the end.

"Dissolvable stitches were invented 35 years ago, do you use them on all internal organs Doctor?" says Cameron.

The surgeon says "I am not sure how long ago but I estimate they will be dissolved within 2 weeks".

That is all that Cameron needed to hear because leaving anything foreign inside her body would mean complications at a later date, or another trip to the hospital.

Derek is the one speaking because he is the eldest, he says "Thank you Doctor, we have seen enough", then they leave.

Outside Cameron says "Sarah should be recovered enough by the early morning to wake up and attempt to leave. We have to leave her here for now so that she is looked after properly".

Derek says "When we get home, we will have to clean the seat, both Allison & I have got oil on our butts".

John says "so have I" then asks how.

Allison explains that as she ran around the container she turned the bend and there was a massive patch of dirty oil and she slipped on it and fell on her back.

She was looking at John pleadingly and frightened that he would blow his top because the whole exercise went drastically wrong.

Instead of that he said "Ally, Derek & I have made our mistakes in the past, is that right Derek?"

Derek agrees and says "It is at times like that when our comrades bale us out - your chance will come but don't risk your life un-necessarily".

Allison puts on a brave face but says "she did that for me John, why would she get herself shot for me, she could have died?"

John looks at her but says nothing. Allison says she will ride with Derek until they change their clothes.

Cameron says in her kind of innocent voice "I have got oil on my butt too, we will all need a shower and change of clothes".

This amuses John and he smiles at Derek but Ally continues to feel gloomy.

After reaching home & much later, not having slept, Allison knocks quietly on John's room to see if he is awake.

"Yes" he says. Allison Says "I wanted to be sure you was awake, it is time for you to go and get your Mom".

Cameron is not there, she is outside patrolling - Allison knew this.

Derek is downstairs on the settee and is also awake, just lying there thinking about what happened - 'did the 888 survive the attack, what happened to Sonia, did it throw her in to the sea, what prompted Sarah to do what she did, how is Allison feeling'.

Then his thoughts go to his time in the future, the easy pickings for Skynet at the slightest mistake of a resistance fighter.

Lastly he thinks of Jesse.

John & Allison come in to the room. She speaks first "Derek, I found John awake, I am worried for Sarah, if they take her away or catch her, we might never know where she is taken".

They all decide to go, as sleep is out of the question until Sarah is safe.

Sonia has not even entered their heads, much.

When they get outside, they all stand there speechless because Cameron is standing there with a red face and lots of tears.

She is holding half a sausage roll and a bottle of water.

After a few seconds, after thinking of a suitable thing to say at a time like this and bearing in mind, as they all know, her skills got them out of this mess, John speaks.

"Cameron, what is wrong with you?" (his choice of words could have been better as it seems to imply that he thinks she has gone wrong or malfunctioning).

She says something that might have been heard by many men and even made as a joke in a comedy on TV:

"If you don't know, I am not telling you", then she turns and walks to the end of the building and sits on the wall and wails.

"Shhh" they all say, as Allison rushes over.

Allison speaks to Cameron "remember what time it is Cameron, sorrow from within, I know you can do that,".

Cameron thinks those last words are quite touching, turns round and hugs Allison and says "it could not be helped Allison, you must not be sad".

At that, Allison starts crying and they hug hard without letting go.

John & Derek look at each other and between them they seem to find a weekness within them, then make a face that is consolling with chin muscles taught and outer lips slightly curled down with a slight tilt of the head. They go indoors in the hope that the girls will stop soon.

Allison starts to console herself and feel more composed then realises that she needs to be careful how she puts her next question - she knows Cameron is probably on full sensitivity alert and will know if she is telling a fib.

What exactly to say was a problem but eventually she sits back up and looks at Cameron and says "What are you going to do about Sonia?"(hoping she has asked the right question).

"You are the first person to even mention her, she is my friend, the only one of my kind. Why doesn't anybody care about her?"

Again Allison is stumped for a good answer and must answer truthfully.

She says "The event that we knew about was Sarah & she was dying, so we thought, John needs her. We have not fully grasped your situation, we are human and it takes time to understand but please believe me Cameron, I fully understand now - I did not realise your emotional attachment was that strong - I am sorry for not thinking about her but now I find you are crying over Sonia and not Sarah, you have done the same thing as us.

Furthermore, I have also done the same thing and cried over my accident which caused Sarah to get shot, I did not think of Sonia".

"OK, thank you for explaining. I will start my search for Sonia as soon as everybody is rested" said Cameron.

Today is the 24th December 2008.

Jenny is in her room having some time to herself and trying to remain calm whilst she wraps the presents hoping she has made the right choices.

She can hear Ricardo playing the guitar in the kitchen and voices from Connie saying things like "what should I do with this" (meaning a packet of stuffing that Jenny left on the table for Connie to use).

Ricardo starts laughing, so Jenny knows what the ingredient probably is.

The children are in the other bedroom discussing their present wrapping progress, as the screek of sellotape is tugged.

Connie also thought about them, when they were born c.2017-18, mostly spent underground without much lighting, without pens/pencils/paper except for the occasional lucky find - so she knew they would not be able to write on the cards and was expecting a visit from them soon.

She thought about their schooling, would they fit in, would they be able to withstand the pettiness of the other children and their wasteful habits when it came to food - so many things.

If they found a beetle in the playground, would they pick it up and eat it just to show the other children what they can do, like they did with Ricky as he gasped and they laughed as they crunched - so many things played through her mind like a conveyor belt.

Jenny must be at her parents house 10:30am tomorrow, Christmas day, so she needs everything packed and ready to leave home quite early.

She knows her original family will be up early too, so she will be as tired as them when the late evening comes, hoping they will suggest she stay for the night.

Connie will stay at home with the children & Ricarco & hopefully everything will be OK - it is possible Ricci will go out later to see his friends but some DVDs are in the children's presents with 'Ghost' & 'Argentina' for Connie.

The team have to use John's jeep with bin liners over the seats to avoid getting excess oil on themselves.

When they get to the hospital, Cameron asks the receptionist/patient registrar if she knows where the woman with gunshot wounds to the stomach is.

After giving a better description she is told that she is in Sandhaven ward.

Derek sits by the entrance to ensure that police are not on their way.

The ward has a door either end so Allison walks down the corridor, around 2 corners which takes her to the other door so that she can keep watch for anything unusual.

John goes in to the ward and finds him mom near the middle sitting up in bed and smiling at him.

She says "I wondered how long it would take you to get here, do you have any clean clothes, mine had oil on them?".

He replies "er no, I bought you some magazines, grapes and a pot plant to put beside your bed, sorry"

She looks at him stern, then he smiles and says "of course we did, it was Allison who told us to because she knew you fell in to it - Mom, she and Cameron have been distraught over you, they have cried and wailed - please be gentle with Allison, she feels terrible over what happened.

She can't understand why you did that to save her".

Sarah looks at him and tilts her head downwards, like she does, looks up again and says "even for me that was stupid but I underestimated my healing ability - I never thought about the consequences, especially for the rest of you but I am glad I did it for Allison, she did not deserve to die, not for a silly 'slip-up' ".

"Yes, it was a slip up wasn't it, that was all - nobody blames her and Derek has been very supportive and encouraging of her. He surprised me, a side of him I don't see that often - Allison is waiting outside for you, I will wait outside for you too".

He pulls the curtains around her bed then leaves through the other door.

Cameron is still there waiting for him - he tells her that she is OK and will be out soon.

Sure enough she emerges and Allison is not far behind having seen the events.

She walks behind them towards the lift - Sarah turns and says "hi Ally, glad you came to meet me, shall we have a nice meal when we get in? not too much though, tomorrow is Christmas"

"Meal? oh all right then" says Allison.

They talk as the lift takes them downstairs and the question of whether she can eat or not crops up -

"Yes, I am healed enough for a soup, my intestine still contains residue and works fine, so a bit more will not hurt, so the doctor says - he appeared mystified so it is best that I am not there any longer".

Christmas day.

Early morning, Jenny slips out of bed & goes downstairs - makes a coffee and gets her clothes ready in the downstairs bathroom.

45 minutes later, she starts loading her green hatchback whilst thinking about anything that needs doing.

She left a note for Ricci, telling him that all her presents are under the tree and wishes him a merry christmas and they can celebrate on new year's day.

She sets off and the roads are fairly quiet.

An hour and a half later she arrives to find the lights on as she pulls in to the drive in front of their 2 cars.

She sits there to compose herself but the door is already opening and 4 sets of faces stand there.

She gets out smiling and takes her sports bag to the door.

"Hello Garrett & Victoria, I am louise, your number 1 fan", then she hugs them, looks down and says

"you must be Richard and Jennifer, I have wanted to meet you for a very long time, how are you both?"

they say "hello" but look a bit puzzled because she has got a bag but nothing else.

Jenny feels weird and shivers with tingling down her body as she comes to contact with herself.

"Come in, come in" says Garrett, as Victoria puts her hand out to take her coat.

Jenny stands up and is momentarily frozen.

Then she goes inside, it is just like she remembered and she just stands and stares and says

"wow, my memories of christmas were just like this - can I sit down with the children and see their toys?"

Jenny does this just to remind herself of all the enjoyment she got from these exact same presents.

Garrett & Vicky are a little puzzled that she goes straight in to attend to the children but they take this as a good sign.

Time passes and the parents are talking to Jennifer about how the money pays for their education, the place they met etc.

Victoria says "The young girl who visited us was very prettty, it seems she came behind your back. I am glad she came though, otherwise we would never have met you".

Jenny says "oh, I never knew that, did she have a little brown beauty mark against her eye-brow?"

"Yes" says Vicki.

Jennifer says "Oh, that would be my friend Cameron, you will not believe how much she has done for me".

Then they ask her questions about herself. Jenny only tells them about her work, what she did there and about her house and garden, plus Ricardo (leaving out the relationship bit).

Jennifer says "I need to go to the car again, I have some presents for you all, I did not forget kids, I just wanted to see your presents first, just in case I had to take mine home again because you have too many".

There is a good response from everybody. Jennifer says "Can somebody small come and help me please?"

Back indoors she hands out the presents & her parents reciprocate, followed by the children, which is a crystal decorative vase with flower patterns and 2 decorative butterflies to place outside the front door.

Garrett's present is a photo frame loaded with many family photos & Victoria's is a silver necklace pendant resembling a very small book with the inscription that says 'Friends for life'.

This is quite possibly Jenny's first moment where she loses her composure temporarily and her lip quivers a little and her eyes turn watery.

She quickly says that each and every present is perfect and smiles at them -

"you could not have chosen better" she continues to say and she moves her glance from one to the other.

They do not miss the watering of her eyes.

Victoria says, can you open your present first Jenny, then you Richard. (They were asked to keep their presents unopened until told, which did not surprise senior Jenny).

Little Jennifer opens her big present to find smaller ones inside.

Some books with pictures of the universe in bright colourful diagrams and an easy book to show how some electrical things work.

The larger present was a beginners easy instruction assembly kit for building a tiny wind turbine that will produce electricity to light a bulb which she can put outside her bedroom window & of course a decent doll complete with flanalette napplies.

Jenny explained that is how people used to do it and perhaps she could try it herself using the small safety pins that are provided.

"and they don't cost so much while the baby is growing up because you don't need to keep buying new ones, all you do is clean them and use them again".

Richard opens his presents to find 2 books too, one is about Artificial intelligence and how it is being developed - it included pictures of robots that look like terminators but not quite so fierce looking and continued to describe how the future could develop androids that look just like men and women.

The recent addition was very recent and a picture similiar to Cameron was inside, describing some of the workings.

(Jenny wrote the last small chapter very recently and rushed out to have it bound like a book - inside the last page was written: by the adult Jennifer Louise Beal), which she hoped would not be seen straight away.

She explained that she wrote the book over the last 3 years during her retirement.

The 2nd book was about army vehicles and how they work, as boys always like that kind of thing.

He opened his square present to find an assembly kit for the most recent flying vehicle which Jenny thought resembled a HK from the future.

She explained that it could be made to fly by attaching the double thin tube to a vacuum cleaner and the internal blades inside the 2 engine housings would spin and keep it afload by using a small gyro in the body of the vehicle to keep it balanced.

"it's direction can be controlled with this valve halfway down the tube" - she said she built it for him with Ricardo's assistance.

Richard's other present was an action doll with mortar firer.

"I hope these presents are suitable?" she said looking at the parents, who just smiled looking quite bemused and wondering if the children would like them - Jenny of course knew they would, even if the books appeared advanced.

"when you master the technique, you can get lots more tubing and fly it very high, if dad lets you" said Jenny.

Garrett and Victoria's presents were ticket's to see the latest opera 'Romeo and Juliet' which she had seen herself and was impressed. She also gave them a hotel booking for the night afterwards which included a meal.

"Perhaps your children's grandparents will look after the children" Jenny suggested, "otherwise I can offer to do it myself if you would like but I have only just met you all?"

Victoria spoke and said "not really, it has been 8 years now, you are our real Christmas present - we will find out what we can arrange".

Jenny smiles in an embarrassed manner whilst staring at Garrett.

The day goes pleasantly and later they watch a christmas movie whilst the children watch DVDs that they received for Christmas.

She is pleased when they invite her to stay the night.

Earlier, Still Christmas day.

The team get home, it a very quiet journey.

Allison is constantly checking on Cameron & she still appears to be bereft.

Sarah sits between them and then suddenly says "Oh my god, nobody has mentioned Sonia, why did you leave her behind?"

It is at this point that Cameron wails again and tears pour.

John looks over his shoulder and says "oh hell, Cam".

Derek turns at the same time to look behind him and scrambles his brain to think of a response that is apt and comes out with "Gee Cam, we have been so distracted, all you had to say was a few words - we made lots of phone calls to you but you never said anything - I believe she fell in the water - i'm sure she will be OK and will come home to us" (that was how he saw it).

Then Derek added, "the treble 8 was shot in the head and leaking gases, it could not survive so I am sure she is safe".

This is where John speaks again "Cam, high priority, find Sonia ASAP when we have rested, we can't do it until after we have slept a while... Christmas day?"

Cameron says in a slightly higher pitched voice but still unmistakably her "I will not turn off my emotions, I want to feel my sorry, I need to find her and I will do everything I can, I have even had to drink water and eat some salty meat to sustain my flesh because I have cried so much".

Cameron continues "when you can, please take me to the place that she fell in the water, she might still be there... trapped - I have to have her back".

Allison offers to take her straight away but Cameron understands her need to sleep like the rest of them and tells her that it will be OK to go when they are ready,

"she can wait, she knows I will never give up" says Cameron looking all red eyed.

A flat with an internet connection and a corpse on the floor is still occupied by Martie Roche(t-888).

He has wrapped the original Martie in a cellophane bag to avoid stench emanating out of the room.

It's search of police records and media has already shown that something has taken place Peterhead docks, LA. There are fatalities but no casualties - only spent cartridges and high velocity ammunition is in evidence.

Martie(888) has computed that it could be an attack on the 888 that it rescued from behind the blast doors, owing to it's vicinity at the docks and imports of coltan.

It decides the best step to take is to continue it's surveillance of police & Media reports.

Previously, in the locked container unit Sonia has rebooted at the usual speed of 2 minutes.

Her team have gone and left her behind - she wonders why.

After a while she hears police cars turn up nearby, followed by talking and the sounds of media stations.

She decides that it is best to stay quiet until they have gone to avoid her picture being taken and possible injuries to policemen who try to stop her.

She considers the possibly of a plausible story if she bangs on the door and they let her out but it is not a good idea.

The best plan is to stay quiet until they are gone and then wait for a lone person to arrive and get them to let her out.

2 hrs 3 mins later, the sound of containers and chains start up, which does not cease.

23 hours later there is the sound of a large diesel engine getting closer which probably belongs to a lorry & another sound above with clanking chains.

The lorry pulls up nearby and there is the clanking of chains.

She starts banging with her hands but eventually she detects the whole container being lifted.

It is lifted on to the trailer of the lorry and the metal clamps are fixed down.

Eventually her banging has the desired result and a man climbs up to open the empty container door.

She jumps out and runs away, much to the shock of the man.

Sonia also has developing emotions and her first emotion is concern for Cameron and the rest of the team.

She runs to a busy road and puts her hand out - it is not long before a car slows down and she asks to be taken towards central LA - he agrees and eyes her as she gets in the car.

On the journey he keeps talking but Sonia only gives necessary responses and says she is visiting her family for christmas but her foster parents won't let her.

The man is decent and they continue on their journey.

He says he is taking christmas presents to his parents.

Sonia thinks about this and wonders if her team are exchanging presents and whether she should be doing the same.

She continues to use her infiltration programming and asks him what would be a tight present for her sister.

He thinks and then says "do you have any money?"

Sonia says "no".

"That is a problem then, does she like perfume?" he says.

She says "yes, she wears different ones each time she is with her boyfriend".

They continue driving until Sonia speaks up and says

"this is not my route, I will have to get out here"

He slows down and stops.

"OK" he says then hands her a small package and says "this can be your christmas present for you sister, it is christmas and I am feeling generous".

Sonia holds out her hand and takes the small box. He sees her hand and is horrified, her metallic fingers are showing through on every digit but fortunately not bleeding.

"Hell girl, you have a false hand?"

"yes" she says, "thank you for the present, she will love it".

He drives off wondering what happened to cause the damage which broke the rubber over her metal fingers & why she is not cold.

There is not much traffic on the road and Sonia is more wary not to be picked up by the police, so she keeps walking, running off the freeway a few times to avoid being challenged when a police car slows down.

She eventually reaches a gas station and there are some cars parked in the forecourt.

She looks inside for an older vehicle and breaks the rear side window then opens the front and gets in.

She lifts the bonnet to see if there is a battery... there is.

She then pulls out the ignition wires and starts the engine running.

She has Cameron's driving experience.

Another 15 minutes later, she is close to the Connor residence and leaves the car by the roadside and continues walking for another 10 minutes.

She eventually gets to their house and knocks at the door.

There is silence, then Cameron comes to the door. Her face turns in to a massive beam and she grabs Sonia and shouts her name.

She gives her a big kiss on the lips and tells her to come in.

The rest of them have got a meal cooked by Allison and are sitting at the table.

"Were you going to enjoy christmas without me?" said Sonia.

"No, we were not, we were all very unhappy and all of us were all going to look for you tomorrow after they had slept - they have not had much sleep".

Cameron is happy and red eyed.

As they walk accross the room the group can see Sonia's hands.

She sees them looking and gives the present to Cameron.

"Happy Christmas Cameron, 'my friend forever' - a tight present given to me for you by the man who drove me most of the way here".

Cameron looks surprised but takes it.

"Open it" says John. She opens it and finds the perfume in a box.

"That is nice, you are right it is a tight present" she says smiling and hugs Sonia again.

They all clap and cheer.

Derek says "Wow, this is something I never thought I would see".

After the children are asleep, Victoria fetches some biscuits & cheese, plus other small snacks whilst Garrett asks Jenny if she would like a drink.

"Sherry would be fine".

After general chat and a few drinks, they ask her more about her past & childhood, what made her think of them and why she was so kind and generous.

"I never had children of my own because of my fear for their future. I grew up in a place that was nothing like this - my experiences and fears prevented this.

I spent my life working in the computer and electronics industry with my own goal in mind.

During this time, in my own time, I constructed equipment, using plans and instructions taken from another time".

(At this moment, they were becoming a little puzzled but continued to listen out of politeness - Jenny wanted to say something but not too much).

"I was 12 when my life changed forever. My parents were dead and I was taken to a place of work and literally taken prisoner and spent years studying, star mapping, quantum physics & searching for the possibility of fluxes in space which allows objects to travel incredibly long distances in a very short space of time".

(she left out the time travel bit).

"They fed me well. It was not until I was approximately 25 that I was able to leave that place by a stroke of good fortune when a most unusual female arrived with a batch of new workers.

She found a way out of there and I took my chance - it could be considered reckless but I did not want this existence to continue.

Nearby I had some stored belongings for any such event in a small bag - I put the strap over my shoulder & ran to the exit after this girl, who was carrying another like herself on her shoulder, then down the fire escape.

The girl had dropped her rescuee but picked her up and ran - I jumped the last 6 steps & ran in the opposite direction to create confusion.

I was only with a large band of people for a few days when their leader found a way to get me out of there but he wanted my agreement to take my knowledge with me and put it to good use.

I did exactly that and made my home - I have lived there ever since & Ricardo joined the household a few years ago and does my garden and many other things that I need" (she smiles & looks at Victoria, who smiles embarrassingly back).

Jenny continues "Only a few days ago, I have through no choice of my own but gratefully so, become a kind of stepmother to two children approximately the age of your Richard & Jennifer - Marta has her mother with her but Dean is like a son to her as his parents died from whence I came.

They are nice children, extremely grateful for everything they have but are not accustomed to their surroundings - in fact that is an understatement.

I have found a family for myself at last"

At this point Jenny starts to well up and says "oh silly me, I wondered how long it would be - I will be back in a moment".

She goes out to the bathroom - having had a few too many drinks, she has let her composure drop and she sits there sobbing.

Victoria says to Garrett "her story seems so strange & is affected by it but it does not make sense - do you think she is telling us the truth? - I don't understand - there aren't places like what she talks about... is there?"

Garrett just says "she has been so nice to us, we must listen and be nice, something has happened in her life".

Jenny returns and apologises then continues talking.

"Perhaps one day I can bring the children here, or you can visit me - I might even be able to persuade the man who will one day rescue me and his family to come too" (Jenny deliberately said it that way).

"Of course" they say.

Jenny says "I think I need to go to bed now, thank you for your hospitality".

Vicky shows her the way, then they part company for the night.

Before long, Victoria knocks on Jenny's door and says "Louise, is everything OK in there for you, I can bring you anything you need".

Jenny replies "everything is fine, just as I remember it", then lies her head down.

Back in bed, Garrett says to Vicki "isn't it strange how delighted the kids were with their presents, Louise seems to know them better than we do !" They lay there for a while happy with his arm around her before falling asleep.

After Sonia's arrival, Cameron has taken her upstairs to share a shower with her and they wash each other's backs. Afterwards when dressed they come back downstairs and Cameron tenderly places large plasters around her fingers whilst they heal.

This does not go un-noticed by any of the others who were aware what happened upstairs after Sarah stood closer and listened then told the others.

They occasionally look over the room to see the tenderness followed by lots of talking and smiles.

At least now the humans are able to finish their meal, whilst Sarah stuck to soup until her insides felt better.

She told them that the shot in the stomach was excrutiating and that is probably why she passed out - then tried to pacify Allison, who unfortunately looked sad.

Sarah Said to Allison "I did what I did because it was necessary to allow Derek another shot - a reckless move but I was unable to anticipate when Derek would fire his round and saving a life seemed to be my only option.

I considered that Cameron told me I would heal.

At this point, Cameron hears this and comes accross the room to put Sarah in the picture.

"Sarah, your body will heal but a shot to the head will not restore your memories and a shot close to the heart will destroy your regenerator - you should still wear body armor and a bullet-proof helmet.

Furthermore, one last thing that I have not told you is that your regenerator needs recharging once a year using the powerpack that I brought back, or another terminator powerpack - you can also recharge from the mains using a power reducer to 6v".

Then Cameron says "Derek, Sonia was zapped by a tazer - she found herself inside a container at the same place that you shot the 888.

She thinks it was sufficient to cause it's system to eventually stop. Do you know what happened to it?"

"Yes", he said, "it fell over the dock's edge and is probably still there".

John says "In that case, we must try to salvage it, remove the chip if it is intact and destroy the body".

Sonia interjects and says "there is something important you must all know - the 888 would not normally carry a tazer, it would have been instructed to do so in case of an attack by someone like me - I believe somebody or something out there knows about us. The most likely probability is related to the electrical disturbance that was reported by the police. Skynet of the future is searching for what it calls 'rogue terminators', especially now that I have been taken from them".

They all go to bed, Sarah stays up and keeps herself busy for a while checking their arsenal to see what remains since she has been away and smelling the weapons to see if she can detect cordite or oil, or both.

Cameron collects Derek's terminator rifle and patrols outside on full alert (or terminator mode).

Sonia keeps Allison snug upstairs in doggy fashion to allay her fears but stays alert too.

Sarah is glad to be home and not having to hear any noises from John's bedroom.

Derek stays the night downstairs on the settee - they all have a weapon nearby.

John's mind is racing and he wishes he was Sonia at this moment or that Cam would join him and 'do her thing' - eventually he goes to sleep.

December 26th 2008.

Jenny wakes up to hear the rest of them are all up. She gets everything done and eventually comes downstairs.

Richard tells her that Nan and Grandad James are coming to see us this afternoon. (that is on her mother's side).

Jenny smiles and says "that's great, I can't wait to see them".

A while later they are eating breakfast and the children are showing Jenny their christmas cards.

"We also got $70 money from some aunts and uncles, $20 Uncle Peter, $20 Auntie Jane, $10 Uncle Bertram and Granny Garrett gave us $20 too - we have to spend it on something good".

Of course Jenny knew all these people and it was just a reminder of some of the things that she had forgotten.

Later on there is a knock on the door and some children have told Garrett that their neighbor has invited all of us next door to see their christmas lights & share some drinks and food.

The day continues and eventually Jenny's Aunt/Uncle leave, she is intrigued by how young they seem after all these years, close to her age actually.

The time is close approaching for her to have to go home because it is approaching 5pm, late enough for a 1 1/2 hour drive.

When it is time to go, she hugs her father and whispers so that only he can hear her "thank you for the lovely life, my favourite present was the song 'lady in red' that you sung to Mom last Christmas. I remember her gorgeous red dress. I saw her going in to the kitchen and crying. I asked her what was wrong, she said that song made her happy".

Then she hugs her mother and again whispers so that only she can hear "I told him how happy you felt when he sang 'lady in red' to you, you looked fabulous in that dress, he knew that. This year he has got you something else in a big box, the small present was just a starter. Oh, and my favourite subjects are science and electronics, plus astronomy - Ask Jennifer what she wants next Christmas and she will tell you - she would love to go shopping with you and buy some things.

Yes Mom, it is me - I love you both".

As Jenny walks away, she says goodbye to the children and says that she would love to see them again and they should keep up with their studies, they will be glad they did one day. - She can see mom/dad looking at each other puzzled - Vicki seems moved.

Suddenly Vicki rushes over to the car and says "what did you mean? I am confused". Jenny replies "Next time we meet I will ensure you meet my new godchildren, I think they are the best ones to explain, as you will think I am eccentric. I will bring Connie and then I will tell tell you how to prepare. Thank you again for seeing me, the silver necklace was 'awesome' " - Victoria/Mom smiles.

Martie has prioritised it's plan of action but has discounted searching schools because he has nothing to go on - he was not instructed to search for John Connor but of course his cranial record exists in his database.

Drawing out the cyborgs is his best option.

The FBI database shows that an agent Ellison is the most recent person to open an old file regarding the phone book killer of Sarah Louise Connor, Sarah Ann Connor and the attempt on John Connor's future mother, the deaths of persons in a discotheque in 1984. Also the entire police force that occupied a police station by a single man whose scan shows him to be a cyborg sent back by Skynet.

More files show that in 1998, the same or a similar cyborg, having been reprogrammed, assisted John Connor who was aged 13 to break his mother out of Pescadero. He then blew up Cyberdyne resulting in the death of Myles Dyson.

** addendum at end of this page

The plan to draw the cyborgs out is to kidnap Tarissa & Danny Dyson, as this might arouse their interest.

The following day, Sonia has spent the rest of the night downstairs on the computer after having scanned Allison and found her to be OK, then waited for her to go in to a deep sleep.

She still has tight rubber gloves on but will take them off in the evening.

She stays there until Cameron returns at 6am.

Derek starts to stir and looks over at them, then says "you were chatty last night with your smiley faces, I guess you are happy now Cameron".

Her reply is "yes & and we discussed many things".

Derek asks if anything interesting has shown up on the computer but Sonia says "no, not yet".

Cameron turns on the TV with the volume very low to listen to the 24 hour news channels when all of a sudden she turns it up as a report is coming in.

'Newsflash, we have just had a report that the widow of Myles Dyson, the computer expert that was murdered in 1984, plus her son have been kidnapped and a ransom has been demanded.

This is Myra Stewart for KPNZ reporting from outside her residence'.

Cameron goes upstairs to wake John up, whilst Sonia also rushes upstairs to wake up Allison because the cyborgs agreed to do this via their high-pitch communication.

Derek is already at attention and is filling up the kettle, knowing that very soon somebody is going to be going out in a hurry & coffee would probably be a good idea.

John says "Sonia is unknown to the police, I think she should take Allison to the crime scene and check things out".

Sarah is coming down the stairs and says to John "Allison needs to go to school with you, Derek can go with Sonia - please John, they are more than capable".

John says "you're losing track of time mom, today is December 26 - anyway, Derek can take Sonia".

Sarah says "sorry, I am in my motherly mode to my growing family".

After Derek has eaten plenty, he heads to the door with Sonia.

When the 2 of them arrive close to the Dyson residence, Sonia dons sunglasses to avoid retina scan by another cyborg.

She is constantly checking around her, especially for somebody wearing sunglasses too.

The news teams have gone but the police remain.

Sonia goes in to infiltrator mode and knocks on the door of a neighbour to ask if Danny was home when Tarissa went missing because she wondered if it was safe to visit his friends.

The first neighbor does not know anything but the 2nd, an older woman tells her that she knows Tarissa and that she would not have thought Danny was home. After they chat it turns out he was at Glendale university.

"Thank you for explaining", then Sonia walks off.

Derek says "Well, have you learnt enough Sonny?"

"Yes, but we need more information".

Derek phones Sarah and asks if there have been any other news reports.

Sarah has her phone on speaker.

"Yes, there is another ransom demand or they die. I do not believe a ransom will be paid so we need to look for a clue about his whereabouts that only a cyborg would spot. The kidnapper knew the Dysons would catch our attention. We must be careful because the trap will be very sophisticated and they do not want Cameron or Sonia damaged".

When they get home, a discussion ensues.

"it assumes that we destroyed the other 888 by the evidence of the weapon used. It knows what I will think - planning our next move is complicated" said Sonia.

She continues to say "it knows that we do not want the Dysons to die, nor disregard this situation giving us an equal opportunity to destroy him. It also knows that his destruction might mean the deaths of the Dysons if we deem necessary because Danny Dyson could take over his father's work. His death is preferable to billions of deaths in the future. He also knows we will be expecting him to use a tazer".

Sarah has been watching the TV during this time and 10 minutes later there is another newsflash. She calls Sonia over.

The TV station has been contacted for the 3rd time, this time the amount has been increased and he will execute Mrs Dyson in 1 hours time if it is not paid.

Sonia says "The 888 is likely calling the TV station so that we will hear the events. I believe Mrs Dyson will die".

Cameron says "I have found the FBI radio communication and they have been instructed to go to MacDonalds on Low plains street with the money in a bag carried by a police officer and told not to empty the premises or the Dysons die - they must also act as though nothing is wrong and allow the traffic to move as normal - they will know otherwise".

The area in question is a small suburb and is therefore not cluttered up with traffic queues.

John immediately says "twins, how could he trap you there, what would you do?"

Cameron says "we can not interpret him".

Sonia adds "we could consider not going in and watch things play out from a distance to see what happens".

Allison puts in a suggestion, mainly because she wants to put her mistake right and asks

"it is possible that this 888 knows Cameron & if so, could it be fooled in to thinking she is Cameron?"

Cameron says "it is likely that he does and probably only needs to scan me once to recognise me as an android, then it will put it's plan in to action but it is too risky because it might involve blasting me to make my system shutdown and reboot so you could not take the risk".

John is adamant "we must try to save one or both of the Dysons whilst destroying the Skynet machine, surely between us we can think of something. We must make our way there - but don't get too near".

They set off in 2 vehicles, seats previously cleaned by the twins who chatted a lot in high pitch early morning to develop their human interraction on all subjects.

When they get there Sarah suggests that this is not a good idea and says

"Perhaps the 888 has got greys working for him and they are watching the streets?"

"You are right" says John, "this does not feel good - it might be wise to call everything off and pick our moment".

They park a distance away and listen to the radio, the cyborgs keep in contact by cellphone between vehicles which are parked quite a distance apart.

Unsurprisingly, a TV broadcasting van passes.

John says "they have probably illegally tapped in to the police frequency too".

Cameron says "The 888 would have predicted these events" & Sarah almost immediately said something similar.

The burger joint is only 3 blocks away, so the teams sit tight.

Allison still wants to help and suggests she could get out and walk closer to see if there is any unusual activity.

Derek says it is dangerous & Sonia says the same thing. (they are the 3 occupants of the SUV).

Allison gets out with her glock before they can stop her - it seems her time in the future could be part reason for this as she is brave but careful.

Allison walks down the street & around the corner.

Derek says "John will have a fit".

Unbeknown to him, Sonia has conveyed the information to Cameron with her high-pitch voice - Cameron has considered this and asks Sonia for her directions.

She then jumps out of the jeep and says "wait here, I will be back".

"What ! " says John but Cameron is off.

Cameron dons dark glasses and rushes down the road in the direction of Macdonalds but taking Allison's route.

As Allison get's closer she sees the TV van stop.

All of a sudden there is a big explosion as the TV van blows up.

It turns out that this has happened because the 888 has scanned Cameron and has diverted the attention of the police.

3 men are ordered to jump out of their van and move slowly towards the girl with a mauve jacket and sunglasses with their tazers.

Allison sees this but is too late and sees Cameron being zapped.

She shoots at the men, killing all of them.

She hides around the corner of a nearby alcove and phones John.

Another figure has emerged and is beginning to lift Cameron.

Allison starts shooting, her distance does not allow accuracy but she aims for the head. It does not seem affected and walks towards the grey van. John & Derek's vehicles come to life and head towards her.

888 gets in the back of the van with Cameron.

Allison sees Cameron start moving and is thus immediately zapped again.

Allison is careful to speed to the side of the van out of view as it is pulling away to avoid being shot - she is running as fast as her legs will allow to the drivers side.

She is good at reloading her gun on the move and fires every shot she has.

The van momentarily swerves and slows down.

She grabs the door handle but stays behind it and fires some shots through the glass.

A slight 'urrgh' is heard. She pokes her head up, sees the keys, grabs them and runs quickly around the front of the van just as the 888 is moving from the back to the front inside of the van.

Allison knows, hopes, prays, fears, just has to know help must surely be coming.

Screeching of tyres is heard. The 888 can not see Allison and can not drive the van.

888 jumps out the drivers seat and takes a couple of steps.

Sarah jumps out the jeep first, she is very agile now and starts firing her repeater rifle.

John keeps driving at the 888 and it turns. As he approaches he sees that the left side of it's head is exposed.

He ducks down very low as it starts shooting at him. The jeep hits and John jumps out.

His firepower will be hopeless against it & he knows this. He runs to the shelter of a car and waits there until Derek arrives with his Raufoss MK-2-11.

Sure enough more screeching just as the 888 has pushed the jeep backwards and gets out.

It rushes to the van and grabs Cameron and literally throws her in the jeep and gets in - zaps Cameron again and starts the engine.

John & Allison start shooting as it starts the engine.

Sonia screeches to a halt - she knows Derek needs a steady shot.

''Lean forward" says Derek, she complies.

He rests his elbow on her, takes aim and fires. BLAM, then KAPOW, the back of it's head is blown out and this time it slumps forward.

The rest of the team, including Allison all run round with their weapons aimed. Nothing.

Sonia is already upright and driving closer just as John shouts "get it in the back quick, let's get out of here".

He shouts "SONIA, GET YOUR SISTER" (A pretty interesting thing to shout in the heat of the moment). She obeys, not that the order is necessary, it is more her desire than obeying John but who knows !

The jeep still works - both Allison and John knew they could not shoot the tires.

Cameron is in the SUV with Derek - he now sees the dead bodies and says "Sonny, be careful to drive around those bodies, we don't want blood on our tires".

Allison rushes up, not smiling but feels that the day's job was productive. She thinks 'I bet this heap of junk never knew I was coming'.

She gets in with John & Sarah and says nothing - she does not expect much so she is glad to be in the back.

Not much is said as they drive home, bearing in mind that the wind rushing in is noisy because the front windscreen is smashed.

Eventually they pull up on the gravel. John says to Allison, with Sarah listening.

"Ally, it was reckless and stupid but by god you did it - hell, is that the kind of girl I like? It sure is !" then smiles.

Allison's face turns to tears as she smiles and gets out the van and walks away quickly.

"WHAT ABOUT MY BROKEN WINDSCREEN" shouts John laughing, "who is going to fix that?"

Sarah was quiet all the way through the journey but can't help but smile and wonders if this is a John from the future.

Sarah says "it was always our intention to go back for the 888 deep down in the dock, to ensure that it is destroyed.

"Yes" said John, "we did not move fast enough, we need to be more efficient, the other 888 knew to look in the water with it's scanning ability and probably got some greys to help get it out of the dock - it got another crack at us - I know it was the same one because it's flesh had not fully regrown".

**** addendum = Cameron's TDE settings in the bank that blew up was**

**current date 9.10.1999 target date 2006**

**subdividing target date 2007 (03/07)**

**John was still aged 15 because Sarah sends Cameron out to buy him a birthday cake in 2007 (according to the TDE records) so, in 2008 he is still 16 until his next birthday occurs.**

**So you can work this out for yourselves because Ellison said John was aged 13 when he broke his mother out. Also, in 1984 Sarah still needed a further 9 months gestation period before she gave birth to John, so he would likely be born in 1985.**

**We should also consider that Claire Young was pregnant in 2007 and gave birth to Allison in 2008, meaning she was 16 in 2024 when Cameron rescued her. **

**The final episode of T:SCC must have been an alternate timeline because it appears that Allison was alive when John jumped to the future with Catherine Weaver in her pursuit of John Henry's body which contained Cameron/His AI on the same chip (so it appears, because the message 'I'M SORRY JOHN' was displayed on the VDU screen in CW's basement).**

**Any comments welcomed on these calculations.**

**Final thought = the Dysons life is still in limbo - do Connie's children go to school or is this too much to ask?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Previously, Jenny has stayed the night with her parents - age 24 & 25 - strange because she is older than them (in fact she is 69 coming on 70). Her own self, age 9 is there, plus her brother, age 10. **

**The kidnapping of the Dysons was a decoy.**

**Allison has reprieved herself but was it too reckless? Were there any witnesses?**

Sonia, Derek & Cameron pull up behind. During their ride home, Cameron asked Sonia if the tazer has damaged her favourite jacket, for which Sonia told her not to worry, it is OK.

Derek wondered what the hell is wrong with those 2 cyborgs "gee, are they are becoming more girlie all the time?" he thinks.

It is girl talk -they are honing it during their spare time & through their observations of the girls room & canteen at school. Then Derek says to Cameron, slightly jibey, "more importantly has it damaged you?" Cameron replies "no, our chips are very well insulated from voltages intended to disable humans".

27th December.

The first thing Sarah does indoors is turn on the TV news channel then leaves it on.

John says to the twins (not Allison, although she looks like Cameron - the twins by default means the cyborgs when the Connor camp speak), "twins, please take the treble 8 in to the garage without Kacy seeing it & then remove the chip - thanks - by the way, there is a large cloth in the garage that you can bring to the jeep and cover it".

Later on, Derek has left home on what he says is 'restocking supplies'. Sarah has a bottle of beer and is eating... again - she might have Cameron's outer physiology but she has human organs but lacks the powerpack. Allison has taken up doing some cooking and the smell of bacon & eggs fills the room - she is almost drooling.

John is chatting to Cameron about how nice it was of her to go after Allison but she did not tell him what she was doing and got herself in to trouble because of this - Cameron stares down whilst she gets her 'telling off'.

"Why did you do it Cam?" he asks. She lifts her head and says "I felt responsible for Allison, I brought her here against your wishes and like you, I am obligated to look after her - I like her and she is my friend - Sonia seems to have developed a small attraction to her too, so I am helping her. Your wellbeing and happiness are my concern, Allison was my high priority at that time and I did not want you to risk your life unnecessarily by following me - I did not consider that the TV van would explode, I was only minding Allison up until that point".

John says in a rather stern voice "are you aware that Allison ended up taking the lead roll in saving your life?"

Cameron looks back shocked.

John continues "Yes, she almost got killed in the process".

Cameron opens her mouth with her eyebrows slightly raised.

John quickly continues "one other thing, I want to talk to you a bit more about emotions when things are quieter, yours! Oh, and one other thing, you were attempting to safeguard her, so that is admirable".

He puts his hands on her head behind her ears and slowly pulls her forward and kisses her on the lips then gets up and says

"Ally, the smell of food is fantastic, remind me to cook you a meal one day".

She replies "if you get the chance, i'll have steak and kidney pie and all the vegetables that we saw in the supermarket and that brown stuff poured on top".

A smile goes round and a sound is heard from the table "I can't wait for that" says Sarah.

Sonia comes in with some blood down her front and proceeds to walk upstairs.

Allison says to her "we once ate terminator meet, it is not as bad as you think - perhaps we should eat it instead of throwing it away?"

Sarah jumps up and says quite loudly "you must be joking?"

Ally says "no, we did it a few times, much more meat than on rats and moles".

John just listens and crosses the room to get his share of eggs & bacon with toast from the toaster and says "thanks for this Ally" and kisses her on the forehead, he thinks she deserved it.

'Big smile' from Ally.

When Sonia comes down, she is wearing light blue jeans and a cream coloured sweater with wide stitching that shows right through her frilly black lacy bra.

John does not complain but waits for Sarah to say something very very soon...

"what ...can't...take it off... etc" all kinds of things that I am sure teens will be familiar with.

The words "take it off" mid sentence were ill chosen because John's eyes stalked slightly and it did not take Cameron long to use some high pitch dialogue and speedy steps accross the floor to stand beside John and make him feel uneasy.

Sonia uses some words she learnt at school "just testing" when one of the cheerleaders got squirted by one of the boys in the canteen, which she followed by a smile and walked off with her wet shirt in her hand.

Sonia comes back down wearing a t-shirt underneath and says "I have the chip" and shortly attaches the chip to the computer with the adapted socket John bought with Cameron a while ago from the computer store.

Sonia says "because this T model is older, there was not a risk of phosphorous on the chip".

When she reads the chip, it seems that the 888 thinks that Cameron had a 73% chance of being destroyed in the bank explosion.

Cameron says "The other 888 has not seen me, it will not know me visually, only by scanning me but it is quite likely that Sonia's description will be passed on to the other 888".

After eating and drinking, John spends quite a while with Sonia reading the chip, so Cameron goes over and helps Allison with the washing up, followed by the laundry - she scans the clothes and discovers that the oily ones will remain stained and therefore throws them all away.

Whilst the machine cycle takes place she comes up the stairs with Allison and says

"John, I am off with Allison to do some shopping, she wants vegetables and brown stuff, she will show me a picture of it when we get there".

"OK, Cam" is all she gets from him - she walks past him and runs her hand accross his neck and smiles at him on the way out.

The analysis is satisfactory for Cameron. Sarah has donned a change of clothes ready for jogging.

When Sarah gets back, looking pretty calm and hardly out of breath, John says to her

"Hey Lara, when you're ready, shall we go for a walk and have a chat?"

"Oh, OK" says Sarah. 25 minutes later Sarah comes downstairs and is ready - she says to John

"Is this a 'Mom Son' chat or business?"

he replies "Mom Son Mom" smiling.

They walk towards the door and Sonia says, "I will come with you, there might be danger out there".

"Not this time, we have to be alone. We will be alright, I am pretty sure. We won't go far" says John.

When they are out he says to Sarah "I'm concerned about myself and Allison because Cameron is under a misapprehension, in her cyborg way, that it is OK for us to be together occasionally. I wish Allison had someone but there isn't anybody!"

Sarah says "Oh, I thought... never mind. I know that there are relationships where these things happen but I never thought you would think the same way".

"I don't Mom, it is just that I know I love Cameron because if I lost her I would just die and there is the other of course. Allison is different, I have not known her long, she is a great gal & I would certainly put her on the top of my list and would feel the same way if something happened to her, like I would about you.

Hell why did I choose to talk to you about this?"

Sarah responds "It is because you are not very good at knowing what to say to Allison and fear that if you turn her down she will wonder why she is here. She knows the bond between you and Cameron and I believe she is just hanging on to what she has, to see how it turns out naturally.

Would you like me to say something to her?"

"NO, she has been plucked from 2024 and brought here. We are all in this position, we don't have anybody else, I must not call a halt to anything. I just wanted you to know how I felt, in case you thought differently".

Sarah replies "OK John, we'll leave it at that. I hope Sonia is not eavesdropping. No, on second thoughts perhaps it will not do any harm. No, change that too, it will do some harm to Cameron if she thinks she tried to help and you do not appreciate it".

As they turn around and walk home, John says "I don't fully understand Cameron and her cyborg ways, she is definitely different from us - there is more I have to learn - I will talk to her tonight".

Still 27th December

When Jenny gets up, she is surprised that Ricardo is missing. She got in late and he was very sleepy.

When she eventually goes downstairs he is there chatting and laughing with Contessa and the children - they are learning 'snap', the card game that he played in Mexico.

Of course they are finding it difficult to match the children's speed and it is quite a 'ball' between them.

He laughs a lot at Connie and she laughs back.

The slap on his hand from Marta then makes him jump - he is not concentrating - Marta seems to think this is funny, as does Dean, so she has added it to the game.

All of a sudden there is a knock at the door.

Jenny has started to become frightened when that happens - she has a lot more to worry about now and wonders if she might be too old for this.

They all freeze, so Ricardo goes to the door.

It is 2 children from next door, they are slightly older.

"Would Marta & Dean like to come round ours and play - we have got some games".

Jenny walks over and says "come in, ask them yourselves".

She is apprehensive because of where they came from.

The kids would like to go next door, so she says she would like to go round too, looking at Connie and wincing her face.

Connie says "I will come to meet your Mom too, whilst you are upstairs with your friends".

On the way round Jenny says to Connie "I was surprised to hear that you use toothbrushes and paste down the tunnel, did that come from the supermarket too?"

"Si, they last a long time, especially when we took as much as possible after all the food, just in case".

When they get next door, Connie speaks to their mother, who introduced herself as Vanessa.

Conny tries to explain that where they came from was completely different "in the jungle with wild animals" is all she can think of - she is worried they might not get on and would it be OK if she stayed a while.

"Of course, have one of these (cheese&pineapple on a stick), Coffee or something stronger to calm the nerves" said Vanessa jokingly.

During this time Jenny tells her 2 children guests not to talk about anything from the future, meaning when they came from - she says "they would not understand and you will frighten them".

After a while, they are surprised to find that everything is going well, possibly because the children were kept close by their group (in 2024) and always looked after, even if conditions were attrocious.

Of course things do not stay that way when Vanessa's son brings out a robot with moving arms on ball-joints and says

"this is a scary robot, I bet you don't have one of them".

Dean says "I was attacked by a real one once and Mom shot it with a plasma rifle - here look at my big scar"

He shows him the scar and says "he picked me up and was carrying me away then all of a sudden "boom", his head blew open and he fell to the ground.

I landed on a long piece of metal and it went right through my leg".

At this, Vanessa's son is shocked and says

"that's not true".

Marta shouts "YES IT IS, I WAS THERE, HE CAME HOME WITH BLOOD POURING OUT OF HIM. Allison carried it's head and said 'here's our trophy' to show what we did' '- and another thing, Oleg dragged it with Chris and they threw it over a cliff - that showed it!' " - then she laughs her head off.

Vanessa's son Thomas says gee, I must tell Dad and runs downstairs. "Guess what Dad..."

We know the rest and Connie quickly rushes upstairs to calm down the situation.

Jenny has to apologise and hopes the children will not have nightmares.

When Connie gets upstairs the daughter, Tina is looking upset after seeing the scar and believing his story. Connie tells her it is just a story, he did it riding a bike.

This is the beginning - adaptation might be quite a problem for Connie's 2 children - hopefully it does not get worse...

Back at the Connor household, Cameron & Allison have returned with lots of shopping and clothes.

Allison says "Cameron memorised the sizes of all the oily clothes and tried to buy near matches, we hope you like them".

The food boxes & bags continue to come in to the house, Cameron is carrying boxes of tins.

Allison says "It's gravy, by the way John, just in case you had forgotten" she laughs.

That evening, after pizzas all round, (another purchase in one of the boxes), John asks Cameron to come upstairs.

"we are going to talk about something lighthearted, that's all guys" says John.

John starts "Cameron, it's been a while since I have seen you so first of all here is a nice kiss to remind you that I really do love you" he kisses her on the lips. Cameron continues kissing him in that way but John stops and says

"that's nice but I really did want to talk Cam, I hope that is alright with you?"

"Of course John, is something bothering you?"

He responds "not really, I just wondered how your automatic reactions like smiling, sadness, or wailing - possible jealousy occur for you? Do you do them because you know you have to or is there more to it than that?"

(Downstairs Sarah is listening intently thinking the subject would start differently - Sonia is listening too - nothing is sacred any more).

Cameron replies, when my AI learning first began, I was primitive in that respect but my self-awareness and decision making made, on what appeared to make more sense than Skynet started to develop.

I have priorities like you do and have made it so that they continue to develop in to much more emotive feelings inside my chip.

I wanted these priorities to mean something to me, so I allowed the panning part of my chip to develop like a pressure chamber.

By observing females and watching videos, Sarah etc., I found that these emotions could be made to work automatically depending on the amount of input I receive.

So If you say something nice to me, like 'I love you Cam', my chip sends the data to the respective pan which expands slightly and if it is my happiness pan I smile a little but if you said it lots of times quickly, I might smile a lot without even having to think about it and then the 'pressure would slowly drop again until next time' but I will still remember this event.

Be warned, if I am also receiving bad news about you, the smile will not occur even if you say you 'love me', I might feel the effect of the bad news in my sad pan and have to force a smile to appear happy".

It is very difficult to explain but this Skynet technology is what they would call cutting edge, as they are trying to move from just metal in chips to other things, more akin to the human brain but much more efficient and stronger."

John thinks a while then says

"Hmnn, so you are more human than I thought, how does this fair in Sonia's case?"

Cameron responds "I believe her emotions are developing very well by following my example. She has developed differently because her attachments to humans seem a little different - that is to be expected but the result is more unexpected than I would have thought".

John says "Has the shower got anything to do with that Cam?"

Cameron knows what he is talking about and says "No, you have assumed wrong, and so have you Sarah, we are the same as humans when it comes to washing our backs, we might be able to self repair but back cleaning is not easy, especially when the back scrubber is broken. I was only in the shower 1m 23s and then I got out and waited for Sonia to finish washing. I believe this should be treated as funny because you are smiling John?"

He then starts laughing and says "that is very funny Cam, you can take it from me, I am sure Sarah is smiling if you could see her face".

John sits down again and writes on a piece of paper 'is there anything you need or shall I go - remember, 'the walls have ears'."

John is smiling, Cameron does the same, then takes the paper and writes 'it depends if you don't mind being listened to' and then smiles at him - John was smiling all along anyway.

John does his walky finger movement and points downstairs.

Cameron replies "yes, let's do that" and they walk out the room.

Walking down the stairs he says to Cameron

"There is something else about you and Sonia that I treat as sacred above all other, and I can honestly say that I would rather die than imagine you being captured and used in current technology - that is how I feel".

(They reach the bottom, now Allison can hear too).

"I can imagine what they would use you for after mass producing you, and it is not just guarding people and fighting battles but also the adult entertainment industry - that would kill me, I could not live with it."

"For me that would be a future not worth fighting for - that is why nobody must ever capture you or your sister-friend Sonia - I would rather die than fight for a world like that.

You mean much more to me than that and I hope that Sonia finds somebody that feels the same way about her, no matter who she or he is".

Cameron smiles at him and it seems that Allison could be getting the feeling that she is not as important... Unless something develops pretty quick or the unexpected arrives.

The team do not return to the final part of schooling for 6 more days but for Jenny, the opposite seems to be the case. The 888 is biding it's patient AI time until school term starts. John has the Dysons on his mind all of the time.

Back indoors Connie has another word with the kids about 'blabbering' about the future "because it could scare Thomas & Tina, Tina especially".

Marta then starts questioning that decision by saying "why?" and so it goes on for a while.

Connie thinks 'how to explain, this is very difficult'. Later on she talks to Jenny about it.

Ricci has gone out, so Jenny spends a long time with Connie. When the kids eventually go to bed, after some pleasant bedtime stories, Jenny comes down and suggests they have a snack and a drink.

Back to the Connor household.

Allison says "Sonia, how long before we need to return to school?"

Upon being told 6 days she suggests they go ice skating because she wants to see if she can do it.

John says, "we need to know if it is open after christmas before we go - I thought you would prefer to go terminator hunting !"

Not much of a response and he wonders if he should have said it in the first place - not exactly the thing to say, putting it like that.

His mind is on the 888 though, he knows school is a dangerous thing to consider and wonders if they should actually be attending in the new year. He knows he never wanted the responsibility - his talk with Cameron and the others, the recent attack and constant reminders of the future actually living in his house with him has increased his resolve immensely.

He wants to accomplish the destruction of this recent terminator, who for all he knows, might be far more dangerous than the last (chip technology-wise).

He knows how Cameron will be affected by the loss of Sonia and probably Allison too - perhaps Sonia feels just as strongly... who knows... perhaps he should try and get her on the scene more when he is with Cameron, instead of leaving her to be with Sarah and Allison a lot of the time.

It turns out that the ice rink is open, so they all decide to go along - Sarah too.

At first they all stand at the edge to observe the skills - the twins observation is done in silence whereas Allison is full of it and points to one man who seems to be very good.

Is this a ploy thinks John, a kind of jealousy test.

Allison gets on the ice as quickly as possible and hangs on to the side before trying her best to move out. She falls over a few times but eventually gets up and moves a little.

She smiles at 'Mr speedy' as he passes and he smiles back. Each time he passes she smiles at him.

The cyborgs are now on the ice and doing pretty well, as is Sarah.

Later, Cameron has refused to let go of John's hand, so his choice in any matter is very limited.

After a while he moves a little and is embarrassingly hanging on to Cameron who seems to have fathomed out a way not to fall over - mysteriously as far as John is concerned.

At long last Allison gets her man and he offers to hold her hand and take her round.

She says that this whole experience 'is like nothing she would have ever dreamed' and smiles no end - to his pleasure.

John has not even noticed, especially considering that Cam is wearing the same colouring as Allison when she skates off with Sarah leaving John in the middle of the rink.

So when he makes his way to the side, he gets confused when he sees Cameron skating with a man and smiling from ear to ear and having a fantastic time.

Momentary jealousy does not last long when Cameron shouts from his left "I'm here".

She joins him and puts her hand on his neck to kiss him but with the intention of testing his emotions only to find he is suffering from high levels of blood pressure, which she puts down to Allison dancing with that man - not a happy feeling.

John says to her, "do you know what Cam, I thought that Allison was you ! I was jealous - I hope you are not thinking of going over there next?" Cameron smiles wide - she has also learnt that sadness can lead to elation, which she has included in her panning response.

Cameron goes back out and John is impressed by how fast she and Sonia are improving - in fact he is gobsmacked - then he spots Sarah

"Oh my oh my, I never thought I would see a day like this" he says quietly, then thinks 'if only life was going to stay like this'.

Cameron feels very confident now and John is more than happy to hang on to her as she goes around the rink with him and it even helps his confidence.

Eventually they finish, well most of them anyway, Allison stays out there - she wants to improve her speed and confidence - typical Allison.

Despite all that is happening, the cyborgs are in fact in terminator mode and spend lots of time looking around and scanning. They sit at a table with food from the bar and chat.

Ally comes up and says

"That man, Matthew, asked me out but I told him I had a boyfriend. He said 'so what'.

I said that I should not because my boyfriend over there will not like it. You let me down John because when he looked over Cameron was kissing you.

He said 'is your boyfriend in to twins? WOW, lucky man'.

Is it good for a man to date twins, do they get an extra rank John?"

Sarah slid away down the table to allow John more room in her relish and looked at Sonia smiling, to let Sonia know this situation amused her.

Later, on their way home, Allison is in the front of the SUV with John and Sarah is sat between the 'most effective killing machines ever built'.

She asks Cameron why she is so quiet.

Cameron replies "I am speaking to Sonia at a very fast rate - and she is replying - we are discussing why the man Matthew said John is a lucky man but only after Allison spoke to him. Would Matthew say John was a lucky man if Sonia and I were his boyfriend instead because we are identical, apart from our flesh faces?"

The 3 humans laugh, so John has to explain "you are probably right Cameron - Matthew would say that twice if he knew you was cyborg twins".

They laugh again but the twins do not get the joke.

When they get home, the jeep is still parked outside with it's broken glass removed. On the way indoors Sarah asks John if he or anybody else has thought about the Dysons.

He says "we can only wait and see what develops - I am sure you will agree that the 888 would prefer to keep them alive as bait - twins, we must continue monitoring events but I am sure you already know this".

"Yes" unison.

John tells everybody "our return to school will probably be his point of attack but it is likely he will use an unfamiliar tactic - perhaps you could help Mom - keep watch outside the school on our first day? Unless you have any of your own ideas?"

Sarah does have one idea & it seems her brain is assessing situations much more efficiently.

She says to John "When you was a boy in the jungle playing chess with the men, you learnt that it was important to sacrifice pawns & even higher ranking pieces if you was satisfied that you would eventually win.

The 888 does not know about Cameron, or so we think, so we have the element of surprise.

We already know that Sonia resembles Sofia Vaseleva, or however you pronounce it. We might be able to use this to our advantage if we can get get her kidnap covered over the TV station.

We can do this by pretending that the kidnappers thought she was the real actress in the vicinity of the Dysons and the kidnappers thought this might engender a better financial reward.

The 888 will be alarmed by this if we can show Sonia tied up and pleading to be released before realisation by everybody else sets in.

We can give some kind of clue to the 888 that we are located in a particular place by leaving an addressed envelope on a table behind her - finally he will scan her, so we need to make scanning impossible in such a way that treble eight will not know for sure whether she is the correct target?"

John considers this and can see the merits of this - he adds

"if we do destroy the 888, we must keep it's chip intact. If the chip is coated with phosphorous or has a self destruct mechanism, this will be a problem. Twins, do you have any solutions in mind?"

Sonia answers "we need to disable the 888 and bring it here undamaged. It is possible to attach a wired connector to it through it's head but I do not know the schematics - perhaps Jenny has worked on them during her removal of their chips for TDE data".

Sarah says "that's good, if you think it is a good plan John. I can phone Jenny and ask her what knowledge she has".

Later on & during conversations through food and drink at the table in the kitchen, a plan is thought up - Allison is intrigued to see John Connor taking in ideas and questioning everybody, including... of course the twins - he wants to treat Sonia equally as he is not sure exactly how much of Cameron is left inside her chip and how much is 'the Sonia with the Sofia voice'.

Later that evening, approx. 6:30, John phones Derek to tell him that he is needed and would appreciate any input he can give on his idea, considering he is well averse to destroying and disabling terminators in the future.

"Sure John, I'll be here, is there anything that you need?" he says.

John replies, "make sure you have replaced those raufoss shells, you never know what might happen but you have to shoot to disable it, if possible".

This gets John thinking about what would trigger off a 'chip self destruct', or if that would actually happen - he checks with Cameron and she replies

"They are built for self repair, no matter what damage they sustain - even if they do not have arms and legs".

"Good" says John.

At that moment Cameron says she has heard another TV station report saying that this is the final warning - the explosion was our doing and we mean business. The ransom is $1m.

She tells everyone that the police have been given instructions of where to go, upon which they will receive further instructions. V

ery soon after, the police have been contacted over their private comms link and they have told the kidnapper that they can not get the money until the morning because they do not have cash like that - the FBI are involved now.

"That is it", says John, "we have to divert the attention of the 888 immediately. He phones Derek and asks him to get there ASAP, the situation has changed & to come back armed to the teeth.

He asks Sarah & Sonia to go straight to the road where the Dysons live and look for a house that is up for sale or unoccupied, then get back to him.

He asks Allison to go with them and buy some silver tape or something useful to tie up and gag.

"Mom, make sure you can find some mail in the place, and place it on the sideboard in view of the camcorder, unless there is a clue to their whereabouts outside one of the windows" -

Sarah replies "sure John, I believe I might have an idea that could work".

"Finally" says John- "whilst Allison is obtaining tape or ropes, one of you twins buy a cheap camcorder with recording medium to record Sofia tied up - make sure the clue can be seen in the background - we need the real Sofia to fein authentication".

When Derek arrives, he tells him that he has obtained a phone number of an agency who have arranged a photo shoot. "It is a 2 hour drive after we meet Allison & Cameron - I know it is late but they have the details that we need. Mom will stay at the property to ensure that nobody enters it. Sonia will return home to monitor events" John says.

When the females of the team arrive after obtaining the equipment, Sarah has an idea that is less obvious but will be picked up by the 888, so she 'orders' the others to adopt this idea.

She phones John and suggests that the 'for sale' sign outside is visible through the window and has a 'give-away' clue with it.

John knows that the 888 will know it might be a trap but will still want to go there to find out.

As they drive, John explains that the agency is called B2A-listers Manhattan beach where the series is filmed. Pretty apt for aspiring actors/actresses. They need to break in and get the personal details of Sofia Vassilieva and where she is filming.

John says "We need to kidnap her - she will probably be at home, as the photo agency has a booking for her - we need her address".

"What" says Derek & Allison.

John replies "it is the only way that the 888 will be drawn out. We have to pretend we are ordinary kidnappers in that area - The FBI are sure to be drawn in and I will ensure the media know about it, explaining that we are the kidnappers of the Dysons.

When the 888 learns of this, it will be intrigued to know why our kidnap victim is the double of Sonia and why it is so coincidental or are they the same.

We will bring her back here and record her tied up so that the 888 can attempt to scan her but we can cover her head at that stage with only her voice heard.

It is also imperative that you get the recording to a 'pickup' spot by the TV media ASAP. let me know when this is done and I will phone them - one of you keep watch to make sure it is picked up".

The 'Real Estate Agency' is a local concern and therefore any enquiries will go to that office but it is closed until the new year which means the 888 will either have to break in or see if there is a picture of the property in the window or preferably find it online. "I have already found it myself and the picture should be a giveaway" says John.

Later, they eventually find the agency and break in - the phone number is found by Cameron who calls Sofia(Vassilieva) to ask if she has received the present yet - she is mimicking Bridget from the series. S

ofia says "no", so Cameron (Bridget (Maria Lark)) tells her that it went to 49 Dell Street.

Sofia says "No, where did you get that address from?"

Cameron replies "Deborah Cass gave it to me, perhaps she is one of the managers, now I am not very happy. I will send you another one because I know you will love it. What is the correct address and I will tell Deborah off?"

Sofia gives her the details, amazingly. 25 minutes later, John & Cameron knock at her door, it opens and they announce themselves as the agency photographers.

"I thought we arranged for tomorrow" says Sofia.

"You did", says John - "but we have got this surprise for you", as he gives her a box.

She is wary of them so Cameron rushes forward and grabs her as gently as possible, under John's strict instructions.

He rushes inside to find 2 other people. He holds a gun at them and says "please do not move, everything will end up OK but it is imperative you do not make a noise".

Cameron places strips of silver tape over all their mouths and ties them up, then they leave the premises with Cameron carrying Sofia in the dark and walks up the road and around the corner.

John knocks at a door and hears "who is that".

He says he heard gunfire at Sofia's address, "call the police".

He wants to ensure that their undue stress is not prolongued. He walks further down the road to meet Cameron and gets in his jeep and they drive off.

Cameron is in the back with Sofia and searches her for a mobile phone which she takes.

Approx 1hr 25m later they arrive at the address where Sarah is waiting.

She has tested the camcorder and placed a flashing bunny on the 'for sale' sign outside, which she stole from a garden on the way there.

They take Sofia inside and tie her to a chair.

Cameron is careful and watches Sofia, taking readings from her neck.

John explains to her that very soon she will be returned to her family and all they need her for is to catch a kidnapper.

"mmmmm mmmmm"

Cameron says "she is probably saying 'why we have kidnapped her' ",

"yes" says John, "not for long though. don't worry Sofia, everything will be OK and you can tell everybody that you helped us - quite a bit of PR for you".

Sarah starts filming and Cameron disguises her voice as Sofia for the recording. She tells the media that they need a further $500,000 which must be passed electronically to the account number that Sonia has just created online, using the Skynet technology to hack the computer of one of the Dysons.

Of course, the flashing bunny can barely be seen outside the window.

Cameron takes the recording to the Dyson house, 4 doors down and posts it through the letter box.

Meanwhile John phones the media saying they have Sofia Vassilieva and have posted the recording on DVD through the Dyson letterbox and are expecting it to be played on TV or she dies.

Sarah starts speaking to Sofia and explains to her that they give their word that they will not harm her.

She also tells her "we have been watching your TV series and enjoy it very much". To calm her down she asks her if she would like a drink or anything to eat. "uhhh uhhh uhhh".

Cameron says "she says no".

"OK" says Sarah. She asks Sofia if it would be OK to remove the gag because if she screams they will have to move and it will put the lives of 2 people in danger. Having had her guarantee, Sofia agrees. She is good to her word.

Now it is just a waiting game - it could be an hour or 24 hours. There is not a TV in this house so Sonia has to stay at home and keep everybody informed. John has handed out balaclavas for everyone to wear.

Cameron has gone outside and crossed the road in wait for any vehicles.

Allison is up the road in the parked SUV also keeping watch.

John phones Sonia and asks her to bring extra grenades and machine guns when she comes.

34 minutes later there is an FBI message saying they have been contacted by the news media and that Sofia's parents are paying the ransom after the DVD was picked up from the Dyson house

Another 27 minutes later the recording is played on national TV & Sonia phones John a 2nd time, who phones the team. Sonia is not concerned by the bank account as this is only a ploy, then she sets off driving Derek's SUV and stops next to where Allison is sitting and hands her some of the weapons, carries on down the road and parks outside the empty house and waits for John to come out and fetch the supplies, constantly watching the windows, which Cameron is also doing.

There is food in the cupboards and fridge so Sarah/John help themselves. John thinks 'pity Allison is not here, she might like some of this'.

He also knows that this time the 888 might have extra men of unknown abilities and from an unknown source.

Derek Joins Allison and advises her that he has got a 2nd Raufoss in the back -

"that should help" he says.

Sonia collects Sofia who only has her legs tied together.

Sofia can not believe her eyes (exact double of herself), and is taken to her vehicle which Sonia starts to drive a safe distance out of harms way for their own safety.

It is 44m after the FBI message that 2 grey vans speed past Sonia heading to the Dyson house, followed by an armored vehicle.

Sonia screeches to a halt, reverses and turns, then is driving fast.

Sofia hangs on hard as Sonia grabs her phone and calls John.

The 2 grey vans stop outside the house and all hell breaks loose.

Machine gun shots and grenades fly.

"stay there, get down" says Sonia. She jumps out and sees Cameron crossing the road.

One of the men in grey coveralls fires a mortar shell at John/Sarah's front door. It is shot open but nothing happens inside. It is unfortunate that John & Sarah start shooting because the greys were not expecting that house to be occupied as the TV report had not been shown yet.

Allison jumps out the vehicle and starts shooting too but Derek stays in the vehicle and smashes the windscreen and aims his Raufoss at any possible 888's.

During all this the back of the armored vehicle doors fly open and a man holding a crossbow fires it at Sonia - he has scanned her in pursuit.

She immediately drops as the cable attached to the titanium rod is electrified leading from a large box in the van.

The arrow penetrated her skin and hung there.

The man jumps out as Sofia is starting to shake on the spot.

Sofia peers over the top but is spotted by the man.

He throws Sonia in the back of the van and comes for Sofia.

She peers over the top again and sees him coming witnessing Cameron firing her machine gun at the back of his head.

He does not drop and grabs Sofia who sees the state of him and starts screaming and he pulls her in to the back of the van.

(of course at this point Cameron had to stop shooting at the 888).

One of the 2 grey vans explodes and the last of the greys drops to the ground at the same time.

"Clear" shouts Derek then John & Sarah run out pointing their guns.

The armored van has started to reverse and pushes the SUV that Sofia was in out of the way.

Cameron shouts "THEY HAVE SOFIA & SONIA".

John shouts back, "BE CAREFUL SHE MUST NOT DIE".

They run towards the van and Cameron jumps on the front and smashes the front window then leans in.

She crushes the drivers neck and takes shots from the passenger in the face and is thrown backwards.

Simultaneously, in the back the 888 is cutting through Sonia's head to reveal the port when all of a sudden Sarah fires at the left front wheel throwing the 888 off balance.

Sofia is even more freaked and tries to keep well out of the way.

The van is not going anywhere and John fires through the broken glass at the passenger, who slumps.

He then throws a grenade in the front of the cockpit, knowing the van itself is protected from the explosion.

'Boom' and the 888 staggers on the spot, this was John's plan.

Sonia is beginning to reboot and gets up.

The rear door is locked so nobody can get in the van.

A period of terrific crashes and 'throws' around the van ensue.

Sofia is rolled up like a foetus trying not to think about it too much.

Derek runs up, with Allison who has got the spares.

He fires his first round at the side of the van, near the middle, in the hope that Sofia has the sense to do the obvious and huddle in the corner.

His first blast is insufficient.

Allison hands him the other Raufoss, takes the other and reloads it down on one knee.

The heat is burning her hand and is extremely painful.

Sarah arrives and takes the 2nd Raufoss and tells allison to load it.

Derek fires, the hole is nearly complete.

Inside the crashing is terrible & all of a sudden Sofia's scream is heard - it appears that she might have been hurt.

The 3rd blast makes a hole and Derek aims his newly reloaded weapon through the hole, takes aim and waits.

The 2 cyborgs are flying from side to side and it appears Sonia has lost the use of a leg, as she hops to the 888.

Before she does, Derek sees Sofia in the corner and fires his weapon at the 888 as it pulls Sonia across the van.

The explosion takes a leg off the 888 and there is some smoke caused by the explosion.

Derek calls to Sonia "OPEN THE DOOR, OPEN THE DOOR SOFIA, SOFIA OPEN THE DOOR, SAVE YOUR LIFE GIRL DO AS I SAY, OPEN THE DOOR".

He won't stop until she gets up and prevents Sarah from firing again.

Sonia has enough equality to bring them both to the floor and holds on to the 888 as long as possible.

888 throws her away and she crawls back as the 888 pulls a gun from somewhere.

Sonia opens the door and turns to take the bullets.

John has run around the back as the doors fly open and Sonia pushes Sofia out the door, just as there is an almighty bang and the 888 takes a shot to the chest and smoke is pumped out of the van.

All of the lights in the neighbourhood are on and police sirens can be heard.

"GO GO GO" shouts John, as Sofia looks up to see her captor, his face black with dust and his hair greyed with pieces of plaster.

Derek & Allison 'run like hell' carrying their weapons towards their vehicle.

Sarah is nearest to John, she looks as filthy as he does.

John carries Sofia to the SUV.

Upon sitting in the drivers seat, he stops to stare at Cameron, looking terrible, getting in the back of the door to get Sonia.

Cameron grabs Sonia and does the piggy-back to the jeep.

Heads are popping out behind curtains.

John jumps out the SUV.

"JOHN" shouts Sarah from the vehicle with concern about being caught.

"We need the treble 8 chip to rescue the Dysons he says back to her".

As he is running Sarah jumps out behind him and passes him, jumps in the van and slides the 888 towards the door, despite the smoke.

He pulls it out (fortunately the shot to the chest disabled it).

As he drags it accross the road, a leg flies out and Sarah follows.

He throws the leg in to the SUV and shouts to Sofia "keep out of the way but stay there" which she does.

Sarah, who is much stronger than she used to be, is doing quite well in dragging the 888 to the vehicle.

She lifts it, John lifts the other leg, and she heaves it in the back next to Sofia who is suffering a 'Sarah Connor from T1 moment when Kyle drove her at speed around the streets of SF, escaping the first ever cybernetic organism who tried to kill her'.

Derek speeds past John, slows down and asks if the vehicle will move. John turns the key a few times and eventually the vehicle starts.

Black smoke shoots out the exhaust and then he does a side turn and knocks a few dustbins everywhere just as Cameron slows down to look at him.

She looks horrible and it has not gone un-noticed by Sofia who now looks as though she wants to throw up.

John follows Derek who has had the sense to turn left up a side road.

Then Cameron follows John.

They all speed at a high rate of knots which continues to freak Sofia but when she looks to her right to see the metal chest with a hole in the middle and some of the destroyed neck showing she just can't stand it any more and turns the other way, puts her knees up and slides down to the floor and does something akin to praying.

After a while the speed slows down and Sarah is able to lean over to see see Sofia on the ground.

It appears that the 888 still has some kind of life in it so she points her gun at it and says loudly "John, it is still alive".

"just keep an eye on it Mom, if it does anything shoot up it's neck and I will stop and get Sofia out".

Sofia huddles even more and tries to get even further away but it is not possible.

Fortunately 888 is unable to do anything and just stares at them with it's mostly undamaged flesh face.

It declines from talking which is probably a relief for everybody and the thought of freeking Sofia out any more might be the final straw if she hears a head talking.

When they are nearly home, Sarah suggests to John that they blindfold Sofia and untie her legs.

They are probably all glad that they live in a safe place with only Kacy living next door.

John takes this moment to say "I'm glad you was watching the window when they got that mortar firer out. When you shouted 'BOMB', I nearly jumped out of my skin but I never hung around and like you I dived. Thanks Mom".

Sarah smiles then says "Come indoors please Sofia, we need you to stay with us until we have fetched the Dysons from wherever they were held - we are hoping they are not dead".

As she walks in the door holding her hand, she says to Sofia

"Thank you for your patience with us, I am sorry this had to happen but that thing next to you is capable of destroying every living thing on this planet if it were to be duplicated thousands of times".

Sofia doesn't say anything - Sarah hopes she was listening.

When John sees Cameron helping Sonia in the door, dragging a leg, he rushes over the takes the other side of her and says

"I am so sorry Sonia, will you be alright?"

She says "Yes but we need parts from that 888 endo".

"OK" says John and smiles at Cameron who knows there has been issues with endo parts between her and Mom in the past, but she is sure that is not the case now.

John sees Allison and Derek and asks if they are OK.

"Sure" says Derek - "did you get a glimpse of Allison?"

John immediately turns his head towards her and says alarmingly "why, what happened Ally?"

"It's alright" says Derek - "she kept us loaded and performed like a VET, Cameron picked the best when he bought her back here, shame she killed her the first time round - er, sorry was that the right thing to say? Look guys, I like her".

Nobody speaks, just looks around at Cameron who looks back but does not appear too badly affected apart from the fact that her face is riddled.

Inside, Sarah draws the curtains and says "Guys, I think we ought to remove Sofia's hood" - "of course" says John.

Sofia's first view is Sonia's battered face and standing on 1 leg with John holding her - she can see metal down the left side of her face and begins to calm down and says

"do you know what she did in that van?"

John smiles at her and says

"yes, pretty awesome eh - can I trust you to keep it to yourself? Nobody will believe you anyway and it might affect your acting career".

"Oh" she says, "sure... Why does she speak and look like me? Any other funny robots in here?"

Sofia is about to say more when Cameron comes in the door from the dark outside after pushing the 888 down to the floor of the SUV.

Her bare fleshless face is exposed and the hand that smashed the toughened glass of the armored vehicle too - that just about shuts Sofia up and she wondered if she was surrounded by them.

She pushed herself back on the seat as Sarah observed what she had seen.

Sarah says to Sofia "It's all right, there isn't any more and they are definitely on our side".

John smiles at her and says "what about you Mom?" - because he is smiling he assumes Sofia treats it as a joke but perhaps he is not so sure about that after he said it.

Sofia then says "I heard lots of explosions, machine guns and guns, explosions, a house blowing up, what was happening? who were they?"

Sarah quickly says "bad guys, can we leave it at that for now - we have work to do".

All of a sudden there is a knock at the door, Sarah says "shhhh, not a word Sofia".

Derek stands to the side of the door and guns everywere are held up, quite awesome as far as Sofia is concerned.

Just then "Sarah, it's me Kacy".

Derek opens the door not wishing to appear rude.

Kacy says "Trevor phoned me and told me that there was an almighty battle, have you heard about it, it is related to the people that were kidnapped. He tells me that Sarah Connor murdered her husband in 1984 and now this has happened.

"He says that if Sarah Connor was alive with her son John, he would say they were responsible because all hell broke loose".

Kacy continues to say "he says one deluded witness said there was a female being shot in the face and she got up with metal glinting like a robot - can you imagine that.

I was alone here and thought I would pop round and tell you - it has creeped me!".

Derek says "Imagine that, can we speak tomorrow because we are in the middle of doing something important. I'm sorry Kacy but definitely tomorrow"

"Oh OK" she says, looking inside to find Allison standing there smiling.

"Sorry", says Allison, "I came over to tell you that, we are preparing for a school fancy dress and have lots of food to make too".

She still can't get rid of Kacy after she offers to help.

"It's OK" says Allison - "we have a house full of girls all doing their bit, I'll catch up with you in the morning and tell you how it goes"

Eventually Kacy goes.

John says to Sarah "Have you asked Jenny about the chip?"

Sarah says "not yet, I wanted to see how things turn out, no point in bothering her about something that never happens".

John replies "OK, if you think it is not too late, do you think she will speak now? It is urgent, we have to get the fate of the Dyson's resolved".

"Of course" said Sarah, "would you like to phone her?"

"Err, of course, I owe her that, she is a very brave and conscientious lady, I will call her - give me your phone.. thanks", then John dials the number.

"J-day 2011, Sarah?"

"No, this is John, she is alright, I don't have your number. I hate asking more of you Jenny, I know all about you and you have my admiration... Yes Connor".

John looks accross the room and makes a point of explaining later to Sofia that Miles Dyson died for his country and not as was portrayed, if she heard him.

Jenny is astounded and a small conversation ensues with words of admiration etc which he tries to return to her. He puts the phone on speaker and says

"Listen Jenny, this matter is urgent. We have a terminator chip inside it's head but we won't take it out because it might self destruct with phosphorous. Are you able to access the chip through it's neck or head?"

"It is possible" says Jenny - "I believe that drilling through the head is the only way because the neck wires are unpredictable and very very thin, almost impossible to work with without future laboratory conditions.

You can only get through the head with thermite and a thin tube that will withstand high temperature, such as claybased. I will look at it for you but I have my hands full, can you come to me?"

"Not really" says John - time is of the essence and we need to get back once the chip information is hopefully obtained to rescue two hostages - sorry Jenny, it has to be that way - perhaps you can ask Ricci to drive you here, yes Sarah has told me about your family. Anyway, if you have to bring anybody or tools with you, please do so, we are in a safe house".

Jenny says she will come and writes down his directions - Sarah agrees to meet her in the town outside the cafe which is closed, as John prefers not to give the address to her.

Jenny is torn as to whether it is OK to leave Ricci, Connie & the kids on their own, especially now that the kids have started having nightmares. They were OK at the beginning, 'just glad to be safe' she thinks. - she is always fearful for their safety.

This decision is wrenching but she does not want to crowd John out. As she searches around for equipment, like her reducer and strong glasses for close work and clothes she decides to phone Sarah and tell her that she is scared about leaving them, considering what John has encountered.

She knows that being at home will not make much difference but she has to be with them, her caring instinct from 2024 which everybody liked her for.

"J-day 2011, Sarah are there any more out there?" says Jenny.

Sarah replies "we feel pretty sure that there are not, how long before you leave?".

"I am about to go, I will tell Ricci and Connie it is an emergency and I will try to bring John back with me. I have to make some kind of promise Sarah, that will give them something to look forward to".

"Sure", says Sarah - "I will meet you outside the cafe in the town as arranged - you must stay overnight, we have a house full of people who will welcome you - did you know Derek?"

"Derek, really, yes".

"BI".

In order to make Sofia feel comfortable, Sarah shows her upstairs to a room that she can use.

"It is mine" says Sarah, "I can sleep on the sofa. It is important that you do not phone anybody and we must have your full trust for our own safety. You will never believe the whole of it. Please let any of us know if you need anything, we will happily oblige. Out there is John's room, you must not go in there, he needs his privacy and you might get a shock. You might like to watch the TV but please do not worry about anything, the danger is over now".

Sarah never promised, 'no-one is ever safe'.

Jenny parks down the roadway up a lane close to the house so that Kacy does not see it and it is not observed from the road.

Sure enough, Kacy seems to be a little on edge and her bedside light comes on, so the 2 of them get indoors quickly.

Sarah says "I think we had better have something cooked as evidence if Kacy gets inquisite tomorrow".

Allison realises it is late but thinks this might be her job as Cameron is already outside patrolling the area, with a balaclava in her jacket pocket ready to hide her face.

Sonia is limited by her leg and minor face damage which means she can not be seen by anybody outside either.

Sarah has a quick thought and pops upstairs to ask Sofia if she would be prepared to pretend she is Sonia tomorrow if somebody turns up.

Sofia has suddenly perked up and thinks perhaps she has a purpose for a while and agrees but as she walks towards the door to take the handle her hand is shaking like hell.

Sarah sees this and decides to stay with her a while and give her some facts.

Sarah tells Sofia that a lady is coming to get information from the destroyed android so that they can find out where the Dysons are - Then says

"perhaps you would like to meet her, she loves young people like you but be prepared to see surprise on her face" as she smiles at her.

Sarah continues "you can't stay up here like that, come down but please try to stay calm, there is not much else to see now - definitely no more androids and bangs".

Sofia is now feeling a little more coherent and agrees to go downstairs and stay quiet.

Sonia is now sitting at the computer. Sarah sees this and goes over to assist if she can.

Listening to the radio, which is always turned down low and tuned in to the police frequency through modification, Sonia says

"I have observed a police message saying that half of the funds have been paid for Sofia's ransom".

Sarah says to Sofia "it must be comforting for you to know that you mean a lot to them - they will get the money back".

"OK" says John, "we need to take another film of Sofia without a gag in front of a blank background, to let them know she is safe and will be home soon, unharmed. This is the case isn't it Sofia?"

"Well, I have not had time to tell you about my back, it hurts near the top".

"What" says Sarah, "come next door and show me, Can you look at it for me Sonia?"

"Yes" says Sonia as she waits for Sarah to help her, then gets up with her arm over Sarah's shoulders, commencing to the downstairs bathroom.

Inside Sofia pulls the back of her blouse up to reveal a big red mark about 2" wide and 4" tall and a surface graze down the centre which is slightly bloody.

Sonia says "It does not show any broken bones - it will probably turn in to a big bruise within 24 hours".

Sonia feels around it, pressing slightly and says the same again.

Sofia says "that is why I never said anything, I am able to move but it is extremely painful".

Sarah says "what will you say to your parents?"

Sofia replies "It is OK, I will tell them how we saved the Dysons together - who shall I say you are?"

"We can't say but believe me I am sorry things were so bad for you, I did not think the .. er .. Robot-android would bring men with it. Let me wash the wound for you and apply some antiseptic ointment, that way we can avoid infection - I will even place a big plaster over it for you".

This would hopefully make Sofia feel better and think more of Sarah, realising they act with good interests.

**The 888 known as Marty knew Sonia was driving the SUV because she turned around to chase the 3 vans and he scanned her face through the toughened glass in the rear door. If she had kept going everything would have been fine but perhaps things might have turned out worse, who knows.**

**In the next chapter there is some fixing and things to put right. Will John agree to meet with the family of things to come? John also discovers the source of the greys and arranges for Sofia to go home but will she have good news?**

**I have made some modifications to this chapter and corrected some name errors (Sonia/Sofia confuses me sometimes).**


	8. Chapter 8

**For all those who have read through my story and stuck with it, I hope my reformatting and use of 3rd person POV has made reading this easier and thanks to Olischulu for sticking with me and ElusiveSanity for being hard but firm - others of course. I feel that using the name 'Cam' is OK for John's girlfriend, as long as she agrees to it but to be honest I assumed John would call her this, Cammy sounds a bit naff to me (only to be said in private and under the sheets) 'Cameron' is too long when said very quickly in the heat of a moment, whether romantic, conflict or in battle. There again, 'Al' could be used instead of 'Ally' for Allison, so perhaps there is logic to that too?**

**Cameron has got her emotions under control now that her chip is repaired but is happy to let them operate when the situation naturally occurs - she does have them switched on, of course - (this applies to Sonia as time goes by).**

**The Connors have returned from their firefight with the t-888 and greys. They need Jenny's knowledge to access the chip inside a terminator head.**

**-0-**

When Sarah & Jenny go to the door they knock quietly and walk to the window to show who they are. Derek lets them in.

"Hello Derek, do you remember me?" says Jenny but his response is "no, I am sorry but I don't, should I?"

Jenny says "when I eventually found a resistance group, you was at the entrance to your base with some of your men and an Alsatian". Derek says "nope, don't recollect it, time travel messes my head up".

At this Jenny says "now I understand", then looks around the room.

Of course the faces are familiar, even John but he looks young. She speaks to him first and tells everybody in the room that he sent her back from 2024 to build the TDE in the bank that blew up

"I had a feeling you all survived" she says. John smiles, "nice to meet you, I'm glad we had you on our side".

"Oh my" said Jenny, "now we have 2 Sonia's, how did that... oh no, the news report, that can't surely be Ariel in Medium can it?".

Sofia smiles and says "Yes, I am helping them to rescue some people that were kidnapped and I was there when they killed a robot, I was injured too - i'm Sofia by the way".

Everybody is surprised that Sofia said all that, it seems she is getting back to normal and has a good mind for grasping things.

Jenny says, "I watch your shows, you are getting bigger parts - good on you".

Sarah butts in "I think we need to get to work Jenny, it is late".

Jenny replies "Of course, did anybody think about a way of introducing thermite to a small area of the coltan head?"

Sonia says that they could consider drilling a hole in a brick and placing it over the head after removing the flesh.

Sarah then says "we have a problem with Kacy because they will need to do it in the garage and there will no doubt be noise and smoke. Added to that, she is 8 months pregnant, we must not stress her out".

Allison quickly suggests she check to see if Kacy is still up and could invite her round, making sure that Cameron & Sonia are not in the room, and then Sofia can pretend she is Sonia. This will allow Cameron to repair Sonia in the garage and also allow Jenny to do her thing under the pretense we are making a carnival stand for the school ball.

John says "We have got to do something and make sure Kacy is involved in here, otherwise she might phone Trevor - OK go Ally, do your thing".

Cameron carries Sonia to the side of the building and waits for the sound of Kacy coming their way, if she comes - Jenny stands with them. She does come, Kacy is pleased they invited her in.

"What shall I do guys, I am bored stiff waiting for my muffin to drop. I am good at fancy cake decorating if you have coloured essences".

Sonia has got the radio in her hand and turns it on in the garage. Allison explains to Kacy that Cameron is in the garage making a stand for the festivities at the ball, "it involves welding" she says. Kacy remarks on Sofia's likeness to Ariel from Medium - Sofia smiles and gets her talking on the subject.

John is beginning to think he might not have a problem with Sofia after all and they might not need to move houses again after all.

Out in the garage, Jenny sees Cameron remove Sonia's light blue jeans, fetch a knife and carefully slice down the centre front of her upper leg, 3" from the top and across either way above the balljoint.

Meanwhile, Jenny fixes the 888 head, which Cameron has already removed from the coltan neck. Jenny grips the head to the bench vice using rope, as there is not anything else available. She also starts cutting the flesh away from the opposite side of the head just above the metallic jaw. The inside of the mouth is out of the question as their 'thermite' could not be inserted without spillage and damage. Jenny hates seeing all the flesh on the face and 'those eyes, looking around the room' but tries not to think about it.

"OK Cameron, I am ready" says Jenny. Upon which, Cameron leaves the repair work to Sonia who has the leg by her side and takes the tools for the job out of the box.

Cameron goes over with the brick, which is a black brick with 3 holes through the middle, normally used for the foundation work just above ground to prevent rising damp (named 'engineering brick' in britain) - it was fortunately found with other bricks in the stack behind the house. She holds it on the head which is positioned on top and Jenny pours on a small amount of thermite from a small arched spade used for planting garden plants.

Cameron has a vacuum cleaner nozzle in 1 hand and Jenny switches it on. She lights the thermite with the ignition stick and Cameron watches it burn, taking the vacuum nozzle in the other hand. Jenny gradually adds more with Cameron's instructions.

Eventually it burns through and Cameron quickly removes the brick with a sideways swipe, sweeping away the surface burning coltan and holds the sucking nozzle over the hole. Cameron then checks the hole in-case it continues burning inside but it does not, fortunately. The first thing that is evident is a mauve light shining out - it is the isotope solution held in an extremely toughened glass vial for the purpose of powering the heads moving parts, such as eyes, mouth, neck & jaw.

Jenny says "we need to remove the screw housing for the wiring that is connected to the chip, then the connector can be pulled out and my reducer put in its place - then we can attach the other end which is on the end of this short cable to a laptop or computer for observation. Can you get the screw out Cameron, or do you know a method to remove the casing?"

It is not long before Cameron has bent a metal rod from a garden fork and snapped it off. She then crushes the handle of a screwdriver by hitting it with a big hammer, bends the metal and uses the appropriate sized box spanner to clamp them both together. Slowly by slowly, she turns the screw by repeatedly taking the modified tool out and twisting the screwdriver tip until the screw is loose enough to turn with another fairly long screwdriver (5" bare metal) with handle also smashed to allow insertion.

Cameron clenches the tip of the screwdriver with a monkey wrench and it has enough grip to turn the loose screw. The cap comes off 2 hours later, Jenny is amazed by Cameron's persistence and has also witnessed Sonia finishing her replacement job.

Finally Sonia replaces the smooth balljoint coltan cover to allow free muscle movement and she stands up to check that everything is OK. Upon satisfactory diagnostic testing and leg and waste bending, she asks Jenny to go indoors and find a needle and cotton, as she cannot go indoors herself because Kacy is still there at 12:15am. Jenny says she will but as she glances across the room she sees something covered up by a blanket and has a look underneath -

"another one?" she says. Sonia replies "yes, we were unable to burn it whilst Kacy was at home. I have removed the powerpack and isotope tube to avoid an explosion".

Jenny goes in and tells everybody that the 'Sonia job' is complete and very soon the twins will be 'ready for bed' meaning they will return to the house for hours of chip reading. Jenny finally asks Sarah if she has got a needle and cotton, this is greeted with a blank look and raised eyebrows, as this is not Sarah's thing.

Kacy says she needs to go to bed now and will lend her needle-work basket to them to finish off their display, so Jenny follows her next door. She talks to Kacy, all chatty like, and says what charming folk they all are. "very enthusiastic" says Jenny. Kacy finds the wicker basket full of sowing stuff and hands it to Jenny, yawns and says "good night". Door shuts.

Once Kacy has gone back home, happy that everything is OK and enjoying her chat with Sofia, Cameron & Sonia return to the house.

Sofia sees Sonia's bloody leg and asks her if it is fixed. Sonia says "Yes, it needs to be sowed up, would you like to do it?" This was a test of Sofia's willingness to be part of the team and sure enough she agrees and asks her where she would like to do it.

"Will it hurt?" she asks Sonia & Sonia replies "no, I can turn off my sensations". Sonia bends a thin needle and hands it to Sofia. John heard this and thinks 'I must commend Sonia on her understanding of human commerarderie & encouragement - I wonder if she got that from Cameron?".

John speaks to Allison and says "Ally, you are a friendly girl, can you chat to Sofia and make her feel at ease. Perhaps you could ask her to say that we kept our masks on in front of her, then the FBI won't ask her to identify us". She replies, "Sure John, I can do that", then smiles at him.

Whilst Sofia is doing the unthinkable, she thinks 'is this really me doing this - what has happened to me?' - she is inwardly amused by her situation, as Allison comes over to keep her company. Sonia smiles at Sofia because her own panning for happiness is developing well and this is indeed a good event.

Sonia and Cameron have agreed that Sonia will take her turn patrolling the area because Cameron's face is riddled with small holes. Cameron will stay indoors and listen for news whilst she searches the chip in the 888 head for information.

Sarah shows Jenny to her room and says to her "I hope you sleep well after all that, I will sleep on a sofa downstairs - it will not be a problem and I can keep better watch".

After her little chat, Allison goes back to the kitchen table. John goes accross the room to see what Allison is doing with the cooking and looks at the food packets and ingredients, then he sees Allison's left hand -

"Ally, you told me you was OK" he says as he lifts her hand up to have a better look, "how did that happen?". Allison says "I do not look for sympathy John, it will heal - I burnt it on the barrel of Derek's .. er shell firer when I reloaded it by the reinforced van when we was rescuing Sofia & Sonia. Then Sarah took over".

John looks at Sarah "are your hands OK?" he said. She replies "Yes, I pulled my sleeve down because I could feel the heat before I touched it - ruined my jacket though".

John looks back at Allison and says "come in to the bathroom, I am going to put some cream and bandage on it for you, you could have done this yourself, why didn't you?" Allison replies "because in the future we did not always have anything and I did not want to forget the others and this is my way of remembering them and continuing to be like them". John replies "oh, well anyway come this way now... that is an order" as he takes the spatula from her hand.

"We're here now Ally, let's make the best of things and get you back in order as soon as possible, who knows what might happen next". John sits her down and squeezes a tube on to her hand and says "It says on the tube antiseptic ointment, ideal for burns - rub it in if you can and I will wrap this soft gauge round it". Sofia is close enough to the open door to hear their conversation.

During this time Allison is watching John's face and seeing how tender he can be. After he finishes he kisses her hand and says "there, all better now" then looks up at her. Her lip quivers, it is the first time for a long time he has been this nice to her. John sees her face and smiles. Allison leans in and kisses John on the lips gently and whispers "what is there for me John? - is this it now?"

John is quiet for a while as he stares at her, places his index finger on his lips and then mouths 'not now'. She understands and will wait in hope. They leave the bathroom as he says, "thanks for cooking some nice things, it's a good job you have the twins to help you understand the recipe, Ally".

10 minutes later, It is very late and Allison has done quite a lot of preparation and cooking and has asked Sonia to take the cakes out of the oven at a certain time. She tells everyone she is off to bed and Sofia thinks it is her time too - she is washing her hands again, this time not blood but flour.

Cameron goes across the room to where John is sitting with Sarah and says to John (fully aware that Sarah will hear everything), "I know Allison is in love with you, it has not gone away, please do whatever you feel you want or should do tonight, I have told you before that I do not have the same emotions as humans and both yourself and Allison are my concern for your happiness John. Remember, I still love you. You do not have to get close to me whilst my face looks like this, I understand". At this John jumps up and kisses her face everywhere and says "Cam, what you look like is not important, I feel too much for you to care about such things".

They are both careful not to push Sarah's feelings too hard and Cameron kisses John, says quietly "go to her", smiles and picks up the Raufoss Rifle and a glock that Derek has left on the coffee table & hands them to Sonia. Derek is on the settee watching the large TV and occasionally switching to the news channel.

Cameron sits down at the computer, turns her head and smiles at John. John wonders if she is putting on a brave face and forcing a smile just as she told him she could. John looks at Sarah who is at the table cleaning weapons. She refuses to look up even though it is pretty obvious she knows he is looking at her. He says loudly to Derek, who is sitting on the other settee "I'm off to bed now" - Derek raises his arm. On his way to the stairs he says to Sonia just as she is opening the front door "glad you are back to normal, I hate seeing my friends damaged. Cam, keep an eye on the news reports, I have not heard anything about the news van explosion yet, strange that." "Yes John" Cameron replies.

Sofia has just ascended the stairs, then John walks quietly upstairs and Sarah turns her head to watch him go. It will only be a few hugs tonight but Allison will be happy ... and so is John. Before sleeping he says to Allison "Ally, would you be happy if I asked you to give up being action girl?"

She replies after a little thought "I had a group up to 2024, that was our life, protecting Marta & Dean and watching our friends die. Everything that people in this time have never seen or could imagine. They seem ungrateful but perhaps one day we will be recognized for what we do. I grew up with it. I did not come here to destroy their memory and be looked upon as a quitter or coward. I want to fight, fight with you. The answer is no". John thinks 'now Cameron will know - will it be too much for her?', and then he pulls Ally tight not knowing his own young mind as far as she is concerned. Then he remembers that he did not attempt to find out if Cameron needed his help with her face. Sarah has heard their conversation, which suggests John is past caring about normal human thinking on these things - she also feels sad for Allison - she even considers the possibility mentioned in her talk with John. She then thinks 'this is different after all!'

Allison turns her head, kisses John and then waits...

In Sarah's bedroom, before going to sleep, Sofia was in deep thought about John's affection to his team members and how nicely he treated Allison - this does not fit the description of a bad guy. She thinks about Sarah and has the same thoughts about how she treated her.

In the morning at 8:15, Sarah is first awake to find Cameron standing by the window and Derek still asleep on the other settee.

Sonia says there is a news report and turns up the TV, which wakes Derek up:

"Three bodies, 2 male and 1 female have been found. They are Kenny Palmo, Chuck Jennings & Janine Allen, who were the crew of the KPNZ media van belonging to us which blew up 2 days ago. Everybody here is very nervous and on edge - we have arranged for armed escorts everywhere we go. All 3 of our crew had their necks broken. We will be conducting our own memorial for them once the events of today have been sorted out. This brings me on to today's events, which occurred almost adjacent to the Dyson house 2 days ago. It appears that it was akin to a battle scene here, the side of a neighbour's house has been blown up and forensics are inside. According to neighbours, occupants came out of the building. 6 bodies have been discovered outside, all in gray coverals and a grey van has all but been demolished by an explosion. Close by is an armored van which has had a hole blasted in the side which could only have been done by an anti-tank weapon and the inside looks as though somebody has bashed the walls with a massive sledge hammer. Witnesses say they saw one of the hooded attackers shot in the face and it turned out to be a female. She got up and this is the weird part, they say her face was silver underneath. This was followed by another hooded male throwing a grenade in to the cockpit after shooting one of the men and causing an explosion in the drivers cockpit. Many of the neighbours are now afraid to leave the house and won't even speak to us through fear of what might happen next. We will be reporting from this scene. This is Karen Ducosky for KPNZ".

Groggily, Derek says "wow, it's all out there now". Surprisingly Sofia comes down first and says with a smile "morning everyone, how are you all? My back aches a bit and it hurts to breathe deep but i'll be OK". Sarah smiles and says to Sofia "I feel much cleaner after the shower last night. I hope your parents won't worry too much about you. We had better get a recording of you to the news station before they worry themselves to death". Sarah then drapes a blanket over the settee and takes the pictures off the wall. "OK Sofia, a nice little message for your parents, 'use your acting skills' ".

Sofia sits and says "what should I say?" - Sarah replies "oh, just say you are OK and we will release you after the rest of the money is paid - tell them we promise and that you trust us - you could mention that we have looked after you very well & ask for the rest of the ransom when we contact them again prior to release".

Sofia says, "Let me think... OK I'm ready". Sarah runs a phone recorder which has not been used before (she is getting good at things like that now that her brain is much clearer than before). Sofia starts with a smile:

"Hi Mom, hi Dad & everybody. I'm fine and being looked after very well. The people that hold me are remarkable people and I will tell you all about it when I get home but it might not be for a couple of days. Thanks for paying my ransom, now I know you really love me and value my life. They will let you know when to pay the rest of the ransom and then I can come home". "Great" says Sarah, although they won't believe the 'remarkable' bit but thanks for saying it. You will get the money back, I promise".

John is coming down the stairs just as Derek says "John" and points to the TV. The news report says "further to our last report, there is still not any news of Sofia Vassilieva and her parents are extremely anxious, especially now that the battle scene outside the Dyson house is linked to her abduction. It is not known who the dead people were and whether or not they were attempting a rescue or whether they were the kidnappers. This is Karen..."

John says to Sarah, "I assume you was filming Sofia to allay her parents' concerns, Mom" - then, with a knowing smile at Derek says "Perhaps you could get it to the TV station Derek, on your way to getting more supplies, a waste bin near the studio would be good - don't rush back, we'll be OK, but keep in touch."

"Sure John" he says, he is always more than happy to see what Jesse is getting up to.

John asks Sonia how the viewing of the chip is progressing - It is at this time that Sofia has just seen the head on it's side with the lead coming out of the hole - "uhh, that's disgusting, I thought I had seen it all" she says.

Sonia says that the video reveals the steps the 888 took to get the first 888 out from behind the blast doors, then give it instructions and told it to use a tazer. How it later scanned the depth of the quay-side and used a man in diving equipment to attach a rope to its body to pull it out. The procedure it took to rebuild the inner skull from schematics taken from Skynet in 2029 but with steel. How it knew to be outside the Dyson residence before the news broadcast by hacking in to the KPNZ computer data and obtaining advance information before transmission.

Just then John remembers Cameron's face and says "Cam, can you come outside a moment please, we need to go for a small walk". Allison looks and wonders if it is about her.

At the edge of the driveway, facing the awesome view he says to her "Cam, after all that happened last night, I was so moved by your concern over the appearance of your face that I never asked if there was anything that I could do to help make it better".

She replies "It's OK, I understand, it was easy to pull the buckshot out with tweezers, I could still feel it without registering pain - I am sure it will be fully healed in 27 hours. Please do not worry, just give me a big hug now" John complies then they talk about plans on the way back to the house with smiles.

When they get back inside John says "Mom, have you phoned the TV station yet?" - Sarah replies "no, Sofia emailed them anonymously in the way that she does best". "Great" says John.

John looks over to the computer "Sonia, have you reached the Dyson's location yet?" "Yes" she says, "it is at the premises of Martie Roche, who is dead beside them - the chip contained the phone number of his last employment. Their condition is unknown but I interpret it is becoming dire".

John says "OK, do you know how to get there?" Sonia replies "no, this 888 has now put itself in to constant shutdown even when I reboot it. It cannot self-destruct, so it is doing this instead. We do have the phone number of his last employment, it might be possible to gain access and find his address".

Both Allison and Sofia are in the background observing events. Sarah suggests she could phone his last employment under the pretense of being his wife or sister and find out who he worked for. John agrees this is their only option. Sarah phones the number - a female answers "DJ Canners !", "Hi, I am Marty Roche's sister, I need to speak to Curly Sue" "who?" "Curly Sue, that is all I know, she was his girlfriend, he needs to bring her to his mother's funeral". "There are 2 Susan's here, I don't know which one of them is curly though, hold on I will try to get one of them".

A while later a female answers the phone and says "hi, neither of us are curly, but I do know Marty Roche. Can I help you?" "Yes, I did not know any of his friends but I wanted to find out if there was someone there who could meet me in your cafe and tell me if he had any friends".

Susan says "Will you be alone?" Sarah replies "Yes". "OK, we have a place down the road called 'Jimmy's drooler', I can meet you there". "OK, ASAP, it is urgent I have to go to a funeral later, where is this place?" "Kennington, Grazia Road". Sarah quickly asks "Kennington CA I hope !" Susan says "Yes, I'll be there at 12:15". Sarah replies "Thanks, see you soon".

"OK" says John, let's hope she volunteers information, I would hate this to get difficult. John thanks Sonia and commends her for her work. "Cam, you don't look like you should be walking the streets, perhaps Sonia should be our escort - time for breakfast I think".

Very soon John, Sarah, Allison & Sonia are on their way, leaving Sofia with Cameron. John hopes their acquaintance will be beneficial to both of them. Before he left he said to Sofia, feel free to talk to Cameron whilst she is on the computer, she is multi-tasking & don't forget, no phone calls and don't leave Cameron's sight - hopefully we will be back with good news. (Cameron hears this from behind Sofia then smiles at John, for which he reciprocates).

When they get to 'Jimmy's drooler' John says "Mom, even this meeting could be dangerous, we cannot be sure about anything" Sarah immediately says "nobody is safe, ever", which has been her saying since as far back in time as John can remember but in those days he was only humoring her.

Sonia drives past and stops down the road. Sarah gets out and walks towards the cafe. The rest of the team, driven by Sonia, turn around and park within a good view of the glass windows of the cafe. It is quite busy at that time of day and some of the customers have take-away food. The display above the door shows a big cartoon of a man about to eat a pie and there is saliva coming out of the sides of his mouth as he happily picks his first mouthful on his fork.

Inside, Sarah looks around and almost immediately a young lady raises her hand in the air and points to where she is sitting. Sarah assumes this is a close-knit community and everybody knows everybody else. She orders a coffee and a sandwich then makes her way over to the table. Sarah is dressed in black, so that she looks the part.

Their conversation is pleasant enough and Susan suggests she talk to the guy on the table 2 bays down, as he hung around with Martie a lot and she thinks they went out together. Sarah thanks the lady and takes her coffee & sandwich and joins the 4 fellas on the other table.

Sarah poses her best attitude and says that Martie was her brother - "I bet he never even mentioned me" she said. "Nope, never did, said one of the guys". "What are you after Doll?" he added. Sarah says "he has left a small case full of letters and certificates under his bed but I don't know where he lives". "Well, I am Jimmy, this is my diner, how do I know you are not here to rob him?" Sarah says "I am in a hurry, perhaps you could take me there, there will be something in it for you!" He smiles, then the other guys smile.

Quite soon Sarah leaves the cafe with Jimmy and a friend, who he said will make sure she does not rob Martie. "Hang on while I phone him says Jimmy".

The phone rings and Sonia answers with a male voice, almost identical to what she heard on the chip when 888 spoke to him. She has 888's phone which was in his/its pocket when they got home. She confirms that Sarah is his sister and quickly breaks off the conversation by holding the mouthpiece and asks Allison to pretend she wants him to hurry up.

Sonia did not expect Allison to say "hurry Marti, I'm almost there... titter". Jimmy heard this as Sonia hangs up the phone - he smiles and says "OK, let's get there quick before I am told off".

John smiles at Allison too and of course she can't resist looking back at him and grinning all over her face.

The 2 guys and Sarah walk down the road 2 streets and in to a door which has a keypad code. Allison/John/Sonia are keeping up - they know the sight that will greet the 3 of them and they don't want any hassle. John rushes forward to keep the downstairs door open, to avoid having Sofia breaking it open.

Upstairs, Jimmy opens the door and "Oh hell, what is this". The Dysons are there tied up, Theresa appears to be close to passing out and the pair of them seem to have their lower halves drenched in urine and there is an awful smell. On the floor is the body in bin liners. Sarah is expecting most of this and feigns despair by saying "who are you?" Already the rest of the team is behind the 2 guys. Sonia has already grabbed one of their cellphones. Sarah rushes up to Danny and starts cutting through the ropes and whispers "pretend you do not know us, we are rescuing you". Theresa's mouth is untaped and John holds her head whilst Allison tries to get water down her neck.

During this time Sonia has prevented the 2 guys from going anywhere and she has searched them for more phones - they make the obvious futile sounds and movements. John says to them "our true purpose was to rescue these 2 people, they are the Dysons and the dead man is Marti. We are leaving now and we would like you to phone the police and tell them that the dead men in grey coveralls were responsible for this - the facts will emerge and you will find that what we say is true. Stay where you are until you hear the lower door slam, then you can collect your phones downstairs".

John picks up Theresa and Sarah picks up Danny. They carry them down the stairs and out through the door and around the corner with Sonia leading the way, constantly scanning as only she knows. They place them in the back of the SUV and drive off quickly. It is cramped in there and Allison has volunteered herself to sit on John's lap in the back between the Dyson's while Sarah is in the front passenger seat. The smell in the car is not very good and no doubt Allison hardly notices, nor Sonia, come to that, having most of Cameron's basic programs.

Allison has another attempt to revive Theresa with water whilst John talks to Danny who is unresponsive but coherent. After about 20 minutes, Theresa wakes up and seems to be complaining about her condition and tries to apologize to Danny. John reassures the pair of them and says they will soon be somewhere safe, and then they can do everything for them. Sarah is on her cellphone and asks for Sofia, so that she can give her the good news because she wants to always show open-ness towards the girl who they have put their trust in.

Sofia is jubilant and says "I knew you could do it".

Cameron comes on the line and says "John, the local police in Kennington have already been to the apartment of Marti Roche. I will call you as soon as the news media make a report. Tell John I love him, I think he might forget, Sarah". Sarah says "OK" and switches off. She thinks about what Cameron said and eventually passes on the word "John". "Yes?" "The police have arrived and Cameron is monitoring the news channel...oh and by the way, she said she loves you, just in case you forgot!" Sarah then turns round and looks at him to see his expression. He is blank faced, then he smiles at her and Sarah smiles back. Allison is feeling a little awkward so she just continues trying to get Theresa to drink then asks Danny if he would like a drink. He does not say anything, so she leans the other way and puts the bottle to his mouth, her hand on the back of his head. Amazingly he drinks.

John knows that the Dysons must meet up with Sofia Vassilieva because they will not believe his story if he or Sarah tell them that they found and rescued them - it must come from Sofia's lips.

The journey home is not straightforward and it is imperative that any police enforcement do not see them. Sofia is good at detouring using the GPS and Sarah helps. Eventually they are nearly home and John places a tight rag over their eyes and then a Halloween mask. When they get home the 2 rescuees are able to walk with John & Sonia's aid. Sarah and Allison pretend they have had too much to drink, just in case Kacy sees them from next door.

John asks Sofia to pull the curtains.

John helps Danny to the downstairs shower and Sarah & Allison help Theresa upstairs to the bathroom where there is another shower.

"Can I help?" says Sofia?

John replies "Sure, get some soup warmed up and some bread for them, then you and Cameron can try to get it down them - they have been kidnapped for 3 days now".

Sarah stands at the top of the stairs and asks John to find some clothes for Danny whilst she does the same for Theresa - he hears this "yes mom".

As soon as the 2 of them are helped out the showers and dressed, they are taken to the 2 downstairs settees with cushions to lie on, if needed. Sonia & Cameron both have a patient to take readings of in the way that they do, using sweat, blood rates etc from various parts of their body.

Both cyborgs agree that "they will live" Whilst Sofia & Cameron start coaxing them to drink some chicken soup and bread soaked in it, Sonia returns to the computer.

Sarah takes this opportunity to video Sofia tending to Danny, unbeknown to her. She asks Sofia if she ever considered being a nurse and Sofia turns with a smile and says "no", then carries on spooning.

John & Sarah decide that the Dysons should stay the night and be returned to the authorities the following evening, along with Sofia. They tell Sofia this & she seems happy enough.

"Make sure the curtains stay closed in the morning" John says to everyone.

The next day, Theresa & Danny are fortunately in good enough shape and are sitting up watching TV whilst they drink some coffee and eat cereals in a bowl.

Danny sees the head of a cyborg with a cord coming out the side of the head next to the computer. Sofia tells him to look at the face.

"That is the same as the man that kidnapped us and tied us up. Oh hell, it was a cyborg Mom, look at this" says Danny.

Theresa quickly stands up and walks over to the table with the laptop rested on it. She bends down, looks up and sees the blank looking face.

It was the face of their captor.

Sonia plays the clip of them being tied to the chairs for them to see.

Cameron is nearby keeping an eye on them, which admittedly makes Theresa feel a little uneasy but none-the-less safe, although her damaged face is quite frightening to Danny, even when she explained that it happened when they were all rescuing Sonia & Sofia before coming for them.

Later when everyone is up, John sits down with the Dysons whilst they eat some breakfast, pancakes this time made by Sarah. He explains to Danny "your father was very brave and died after being shot by a SWAT guy. He detonated the explosives which destroyed the factory - it did delay judgement day but Skynet and its aftermath in the future are still haunting us - the seed is endemic".

Theresa looks at Danny and says "I believe John. Surely our rescue is proof enough".

Danny nods but stays quiet as the reality of the situation is hard to swallow.

Theresa mentions the head of Marti to John which satisfies him that they now know the full truth.

Sonia & Allison share the job of cleaning the back of Sarah's SUV and begin to chat.

******they share the day at home and await nightfall *******

Sarah knows that now is a good time to tell her story to Danny and shows her the scars to prove it. All about Kyle, which is hard for her tell. Everybody listens. Sofia has her mouth open at some points. Not even Cameron & Sonia know the full stories and they both agree to keep their emotions switched on which is quite hurtful to the pair of them, especially when they hold hands, look at each other just as tears begin to form.

They all eat well, except you know who's of course and as darkness falls Sarah suggests they drop their rescuees outside Valley Square Park where they can sit and wait to be picked up.

The team get ready to go and it is agreed that they lock the house and use both vehicles, especially now that John's windscreen is fixed by a dial-a-glass-fixer-guy just down the road from where they live, courtesy of Sarah.

Jenny stays indoors 'holding the fort' whilst they are away and will use this quiet period to phone home on her cellphone. She will tell them that she will come home in the morning, everything is almost finalised.

Of course Sofia just has to chat quite a lot to Sonia before she goes out with them and invites her to meet her parents some time. Sonia agrees but knows this is not a good idea.

The rescuees have to agree to wear Halloween masks with the eyes sealed off with tape because this is all they have in the house from the original children's bedroom.

Danny & Theresa in the back of Sarah's SUV, Sarah front with Sonia driving,

Sofia & Allison in the back of John's jeep, John in front with Cameron driving.

At the park, Sarah hands Sofia's phone back to her after wiping it down, saying "Cameron gave this to me for you. Also, here is a memento of your good work" then hands her the recording she took of her tending to the Dysons.

Sarah then says to the Dysons "Theresa, please make it clear to the FBI that the greys in grey coveralls were working for the guy who kidnapped you and it was them who blew up the KPNZ news van. Also, don't forget, if you talk about killer robots or anything that leads to us, you will be letting yourself down because all this is hushed up by the government and they will not help you - you might end up being locked away in a psychiatric institution like I was. So leave us be ... please".

Sarah turns to Danny and continues talking "If you don't, the outcome with be catastrophic for everyone, and that includes you".

Sarah hopes Danny does not perceive that as a threat but there again, perhaps it should be. Who knows, he has got plenty of time to think about her words 'either way'. Sarah knows that the cyborgs will have advance warning of any possible raid on their home by the government.

Theresa asks Sarah "What will happen to us, does this mean we will never be safe?"

Sarah replies "I am sorry but I do not know. Skynet should not know that the terminator named Marti kidnapped you and I do not see any reason why it should happen again. Just go home and continue with your life".

-0-

Meanwhile, sitting at home, James Ellison is sitting with copies of all the Connor files and everything he can find out about the Dysons ever since that day when her husband died at the hands of the Connors. He also sees the other large male assassin who somehow annihilated an entire police station's occupants after the Tech-Noir disco killing spree - which is probably linked to the phone book killer too.

The recent events certainly smack of the Connors, 'who else rages war on entire opposing forces unlike ordinary respectable murderers and rapists' he ironically thinks.

"I will definitely get in to and to the bottom of this" he quietly says to himself in the reflection of his wife's photo glass, as the bright light lightens up his face.

-0-

Whilst the cyborgs are driving to their destination, Jenny learns from Contessa that the children have started having bad dreams. "It seems that they feel safer with you there. I have them in bed with me now" she says to Jenny.

What Conny never said was that Ricci had to return to his own room.

-0-

When the 2 vehicles arrive outside the park, John & Sarah wish them well, Sonia & Cameron follow suit. Sofia tries to get more conversation out of the cyborgs and tells them that she will never forget them.

"You can use the phone that I gave back to you to phone the FBI - I've keyed in the number of the news station if you want to call them first - make sure you get lots of TV coverage" says Cameron to Sofia.

Sonia says something that she thinks might sound nice: "Sofia, It was nice to meet my identical lookalike, you are like Allison now - you share your looks with us - I will thank my best friend for that".

Sonia turns her head to look at Cameron and says "thank you Cameron" then gives her a big hug and a few tears. Allison looks at Sofia, and then suddenly they do the same, literally.

John and Sarah watch, Sarah refuses to be different and hugs John whether he likes it or not.

Then the Connor Clan get in their vehicles and disappear from view - possibly their last encounter.

Sofia plays the recording whilst the Dysons watch, quite surprised to see her helping with their revival.


	9. Chapter 9

Sofia Vassilieva & Danny/Theresa Dyson have been rescued from the terminator and men in grey overalls. They are taken to and left in the park whilst John/Sarah/Cameron/Sonia/Allisonwatch proceedings from a distance.

Hopefully, for those that have read all of my chapters, the term 'rat frequency' or 'rat to the other cyborg' will now be understood. The word 'mouse' could be used too but let's not confuse things further. LOL (gee, these expressions, some of our team of fanfic writers use letters that I do not understand, very complex this abbrev. language).

It is not long before 3 cars and a KZPN van arrive. Men in suits get out of the cars and stand around the perimeter. They do not appear to have uniforms and it is possible that the news-station has employed a high level of security for the foreseeable future.

It is at this point that John asks Sarah to phone Jenny and switch on the TV.

Sarah says "28 December 2010. Jenny switch on the news channel quick - you can call me back if you hear anything - try to record it if you can - thanks - bye".

"bi".

Jenny does so and waits for the bulletin to start.

Very soon the cameras are out and the 3 rescuees are speaking to the newslady, newsman and cameras.

"This is a news alert, the hostages Danny & Theresa Dyson, the relatives of Miles Dyson who died many years ago, plus Sofia Vassilieva, the actor from the TV series Medium have been discovered alive in a park outside a large shopping mall at Valley Square. Here is their account of things. I hand you over to Sofia."

Meanwhile the Dysons are speaking to the male interviewer on another camera, which is presumably being recorded to play after this interview.

Sofia speaks "Mom, Dad I am safe and well - the people that kidnapped me did it for a good reason and they never intended to hurt me. They tell me that you will get your money back Dad.

I was taken to lure out the kidnappers of the Dysons and it was always intended for me to be kept safe. They took me for a special reason but they never told me why.(lie) The men in grey overalls kidnapped the Dysons but my captors rescued them - they are the bravest and nicest people I could possibly want to meet".

As a last thought, Sofia adds "without them this world would be a much more dangerous place, you have to believe me - I helped them to revive the Dysons and a lovely lady looked after me after I had an accident".

Then Sofia smiles at the camera and says, almost broken hearted "I love you all, I will be your friends forever".

Sofia turns her head, looking happy & sad at the same time.

"Thank you for your most interesting interview Sofia, there is much more that I would like to ask you. What are the names of these people, have you any idea, what is their purpose, where do they live?" said the interviewer.

"No, they wore masks but they gave me this - I can't tell you any more than that" - Sofia then gives the phone to the interviewer."

The interviewer says "thank you, we will have a look at it" - then says "This is Karen Ducosky for KZPN". Off rushes Karen to their van.

Approximately 10 minutes later, there is another newsflash for which Jenny is prompted to phone Sarah again and says "28 Dec 2010. Sarah, they have interviewed Sofia now they are playing the Dyson interview".

"Thanks, make sure it is recorded - we will make our way home now" says Sarah.

As the team get in their vehicles and start off on their journey, the recording plays like this:

"This is Carlos Jacott KZPN at the site of the release of the Dysons & Sofia Vassilieva - here is the account of the Dysons".

The recording is played as follows:

"Theresa please give me your account of events if you are up to it."

Theresa responds "Myself & Danny are feeling rather weak after being tied up for nearly 3 days without food and water. I know that the people who rescued me are good people and have made many sacrifices to help safeguard people like you and me. 3 of their team were injured, or perhaps 4 if you want to consider Sofia too, during their rescue of us. He has made sacrifies along with his team members all of his life to help safeguard people like me. You won't hear anybody in law enforcement verify what I say but please believe me, it is true.

There are people out there in our own country that want to destroy our entire way of life. I don't care what people say or think, because we know the truth".

Finally, Karen Ducosky speaks again. "Here is a final recording taken by one of the team who rescued the Dysons immediately after they were brought to a place of sanctuary".

The recording of Sofia trying to get water and soup inside the Dysons is shown. A woman's voice is heard saying "have you ever considered being a nurse?" Sofia suddenly turns her head with a smile to face the camera and says "no", then carries on spooning.

Sarah knew somebody might recognise her voice but that was her intention.

Sirens are heard and police cars pull up. They hold guns at anybody that moves and the bodyguards are all apprehended. This situation will no doubt be resolved later after lots of time wasting. The Dysons & Sofia are quickly escorted to 2 police cars and wisked off. After that everything will be OK except that the Dysons are now known to Kaliba, who are probably not concerned with Sofia. Who knows "nobody is ever safe".

Meanwhile in the Dixon household.

Michelle is watching the TV and sees the entire report. She says to Charlie

"I don't suppose Sarah had anything to do with that do you sweetie?"

Charlie is taken aback that she used the word 'sweetie' but guessed it might be sarcasm as she refers to Sarah. He replies

"probably, it looks like her thing".

Michelle smiles at him. Charlie feels... he does not know how to feel but he is sure everything is OK between the 2 of them.

When the team get home, Sarah suggests they act as though they have had a good time and she will pretend to be drunk, so that Kacy is aroused by their noise.

"Twins, do you know how to pretend you are full of high spirits?"

They both look at Sarah then Sonia says (on Cameron's GA in 'rat frequency', GA means 'go ahead') "do you want us to float in the air and pretend to be a ghost?"

Everybody laughs - this is indeed a good tension breaker.

John replies trying to stop laughing with his hand on Cameron's shoulder holding himself still, even though she is driving. "No, it is a term we use to show that we are extremely happy, just like we are now".

Sonia says "thank you for explaining".

Now Sarah laughs a bit more.

"give it a go" says John.

Sonia's attempt is a little like Cameron's response after Enrique talked her nearly to death about the boxer El Finito & 'If you know etc' - then, as she was leaving, Enrique smiled at her and she smiled sarcastically back, or perhaps it was not sarcastic?

Allison then says "no, Sonny, try it like this" then Allison does the moves and sounds of a girl having a good time. This makes everybody laugh again and Sonia/Cameron decide to copy them without their own improvisations.

"That's more like it" says John.

Very soon they arrive home and Sarah tells the twins to perform what they have just learnt - all of a sudden the cyborg noises begin and everybody else just laughs because of their acting but they try not to appear rude and quickly open the doors to get out.

John says to Cameron, laughing "did you see that man dressed up as a robot?" haha.

Cameron says with her sweet little girl face "no"?

Everybody (except the you-know-whos) laugh again even more.

The cyborgs decide to forget the question for now and just emulate laughter and will have a chat about it later - in rat/mouse frequency.

It is not very late, only 9.55. Sure enough, Kacy is disturbed by the noise and the curtain opens. Allison waves at her and Kacy waves back with a smile. Hopefully she will not associate their disappearance with the newscasts and the time that it happened.

"SEE YOU TOMORROW" shouts Sarah, then puts her hand on Sonia and walks 'funny' towards the door.

When they get indoors John says "this is ridiculous, what are we playing at?" for which Allison replies "come on John, it was funny and I haven't seen you laugh like that before. I enjoyed it".

Jenny is surprised by the noise outside and Sarah sees her face and explains to her why they did it.

"Oh OK, I thought everybody had been gassed or something" Jenny replies. She then asks John if it will be OK for him to come home with her in the morning "the children are still asking after you" she says.

John replies, feeling slightly higher in spirits "Yes of course, I want to see how they are after their time in the future - perhaps I will learn from them. I will come with you tomorrow".

At this, Cameron says "John, I have to come with you".

John says to Cameron "Of course Cam, I did not expect anything less - will you be bringing your sister with you?" - Cameron's response "Sonia, will you be coming with us?"

Sonia agrees by saying "I would like to sing to the children again, they enjoyed that - I will learn some songs tonight from youtube if you can patrol outside" as she looks at Cameron.

Everything is agreed except that Allison is listening and wonders if she should say anything. A while passes and nobody seems to notice her.

Sarah is pretty keyed up now, with her clear-headedness and soon realises that again Allison is left out of the mix. She says to Allison "whilst they are gone, what shall we do Allison" loud enough for John to hear.

Allison replies "I don't know, shall we go out somewhere? How long will you be away John?"

Allison tries to force a smile at Sarah but it is not exactly convincing & Sarah can see this.

John looks up smiling and says "it's up to Jenny but we must be back for our return to last term at school on 2 January 2009".

"OK Allison, tomorrow we go shopping for new clothes. I want to buy ourselves some great stuff to attract the guys. Later on I will win us some money - I am going to look on the internet for an open darts competition that is played regularly".

John looks over with a blank look on his face - Cameron is nearby and just smiles at them. John turns his head and decides it is time for Cameron to have a tug towards him which is followed by an embrace with his arm around her, kisses cameron on the cheek and says quietly "I still love ya Cam".

Cameron's panning is working well and her lips are in 'smile mode', for want of a better description. They walk off together in an embrace and up the stairs. (to pack).

Sonia went over to Jenny, who was standing alone and asked her if the children were OK living in 2008. A conversation ensues where Jenny explains that since she has left home the children are feeling less secure and have had nightmares about their future past.

Very soon everybody is downstairs on the settees watching the news broadcast. Sarah & John seem happy with the accounts but John did happen to mention Sarah's voice. Sarah explained that she is dead and it would not do the authorities any harm to think that she took a part in the Dyson's rescue, for which John concedes.

"Yes mom, that will mystify them even more" says John with a smile.

The cyborgs are having a moment of silence and Allison says to them "twins, do you know that when you are silent you both sit and look similar, don't they Jenny" she says with a jokey voice and looks at Jenny who smiles back and nods her head in agreement.

Cameron agrees with Sonia that she will explain what they are doing. She says to Allison "we are unsure why the man dressed up as a robot was funny?"

"Oh" says Allison, "it was not really funny but we had to invent a make-believe man dressed up so that we could imagine it and when you said you did not understand, that made us laugh".

Cameron says "why?"

Nobody wants to hurt hers or Sonia's feelings at this point & Allison tries to explain. She looks at John as she starts and finds that he is about to find whatever she is about to say amusing, which makes her nervous.

"Twins, humans are silly at times, we laugh at things that should not be funny but ever since we were children we have always laughed at silly things. I can't really explain it but when you said you did not understand, it was funny to us because we knew it was made up by John but you twins did not".

John quickly butts in "twins, we are affectionate in our laughing at you because as time goes by you will understand, like children do, how our silly minds think... I hope. I don't want either of you to be offended because we love both of you".

John hoped that explanation was sufficient as he grabbed Cameron's hand and placed it on his neck in the hope that she would believe that he was telling her the truth and 'rat' it on to Sonia.

It is at this moment that John thanks Jenny for her work above the call of duty.

She says she is happy to help and tells him about his self in the future, of which she has only limited knowledge. She tells him about Cameron in the future and tells John that Sonia probably has those memories too. Sonia says she does.

As the night goes on, Jenny tells John about her own family, the story that she has already told to Connie, Ricci etc. She feels more composed now that she has told the story once.

John listens intently with a great deal of interest.

Allison then brings up the subject of younger versions of themselves living in this timeline which is also a good talking point for all of them.

"Twins, do you think you might exist in the future now that you are here?" says Allison.

Sonia replies "providing that we are not destroyed, I am sure we will but because we have changed history, we will be in another timeline. We do not know if Skynet built another like ourselves in 2024 in the reality that we came from.

If they did, we will never know if they successfully killed John after we left but if we can avert their technology they might never build another cybernetic organism like us".

"Oh" says Allison, not sure what else to say after that.

"Yes, it is deep isn't it" says Sarah.

Not long after that they all go to bed, Sonia stays indoors, surfing etc whilst Cameron does her outside chores without complaining and with the patience that her kind possess.

Sarah stays up a while with Sonia, checking the internet for local competitions that have good prize money.

Sonia utilizes Sarah's surfing time with the laundry downstairs in the basement.

Allison lies awake for a while thinking about everything and wondering whether John should really matter to her. She can not control her love for him but weeps quietly for a while before going to sleep.

Even this is heard by Sonia & Sarah. Sonia feels as sad as Sarah but decides not to say anything to Cameron about what she has heard.

At 2am Cameron comes back indoors and quietly walks upstairs to John's room - Sarah hears.

The next morning at 5.35 am Sonia sees a newsflash on TV whilst sitting at the computer.

It tells viewers that a videocamera at a gun shop shows a large man resembling Rock Hudson murdering the shop owner of a gun store then robbing it.

The weapons found at the flat of the murdered Martie Roche were traced to that gun store. The untraced assassin and probable ringleader said to have kidnapped the Dysons appears to still be at large and everybody should be on the look out for him - then an identifit drawing given to the local police by locals of Martie Roche show a sketch of his picture.

This store has never been robbed before due to the owner's locking system but his death was so quick he never had time to press the switch with his foot which he always stands over when serving a customer which links to the police station.

Sonia knows that the police were lucky in this instance.

The report has been recorded. Sonia will play it as soon as the rest of the team emerge. (not a high priority).

Jenny is up first and greets Sonia. She is hoping John will keep his word.

Cameron has not forgotten and knows Jenny will want to get away early as she will be anxious, so she gently wakes John up.

John's 'uumph' & 'uurgh' "what's up Cam" is heard by Sarah who thinks how glad she is that being woken up does not leave her feeling tired.

John says to Cameron "Your face has healed up, that's nice, my kiss worked". Cameron is puzzled but guesses that it is a quaint human ritual probably used on children when they hurt themselves - she will discuss it with Sonia and 'check it out' on the internet, rather than appear to John that she does not know what he means. She returns a smile to him instead.

3 of them eventually get downstairs, minus Allison, who John never thought about.

They are all asked by Jenny who is going to join her on the trip home.

Sometimes the presence of Cameron can make people forget about Allison.

Jenny switches on the TV the plays the recordings for all to see.

"Oh well" says John, "that's one man that they will never find."

It is Cameron who points out to John that Allison is not up yet & thinks of the way she felt when nobody thought of Sonia when she was missing.

"Do you want to invite Allison along too Jenny?" says Cameron.

"Yes she is invited" said Jenny.

"OK, she is still in bed asleep, I'll go and wake her up" says Cameron. John offers but she rejects his absentmindedness with an 'eyebrows and eyes up' stare and moves her head from side to side a little to emulate something she saw in a TV show repeat named '3rd Rock From The Sun'.

John looks back at Cameron and thinks "oh dear, I have done it again, she is more like a girl every day".

Meanwhile everybody is looking at him and smiling, until he turns his head then tight lipped deadpanned but obvious faces greet his vision.

Sonia observes and learns.

This makes it worse and he says "come on guys, I am human you know - it's not easy having 2 identical females in your life".

That just about did it, he should have chosen much better words - everybody in the room LOLs and Allison is woken up even before Cameron reaches her room.

"What was that Cam?" says Allison.

"Oh, this time John forgot about you - it will be time to go to Jenny's new family and he forgot about you" said Cameron, on purpose.

"Really, then I will have to make him pay for that" said Allison. She thinks for a short while before Cameron leaves the room and asks Cameron to stay while she gets ready and thinks of a good payback, as she smiles.

Cameron understands and stays with her in the bathroom whilst Allison showers and discusses her plan.

Eventually the 2 of them go downstairs and Allison says to John "I have got other plans John, Cameron is coming with me to practice some infiltration. We are going to the 'Club Paradiso' to learn to be dancers - they will be extremely pleased to have twins joining them. Have a nice journey and we will see you when you get back" she says with a big smile on her face, which is matched by Cameron's.

John is quite surprised and is a little stumped. Unknown to him Cameron has told Sonia his plan and she smiles and winks at the others in the room, signifying a wind-up. They wait to see how it plays out.

The identicals go back upstairs chatting and say 'goodbye' to the others.

John is not happy with this and thinks he will check up on this 'Club Paradiso' on the internet.

Much to his horror it is a topless poledancing and private show club.

"No way" he says rather loudly, believing anything is possible with that naughty cyborg leading Allison astray.

He rushes upstairs and is greeted by 2 serious looking faces, sitting at Allison's dressing table applying lots of rouge and lipstick, with stockings and other gear on their laps.

"Cameron, what the hell are you playing at, do you seriously think you can talk Allison in to taking her top off in public? No way, I will never allow this". Says John with an urgent tone in his voice.

He begins to think this could be a wind-up but can't be sure seeing the lengths that they are already going to.

Quickly sneeking up the stairs behind him are 3 females all ready to witness his final embarrassment.

He sees their big grins and then it is all over. "all right, all right, I give in, you got me" said John.

"What do you mean?" said Allison.

"Come on Cameron, own up, I know you are not really going".

Cameron makes her quaint but lovable butter-wont-melt look and says "yes we are, we have been there once before and the man there likes our form and wants us to go naked".

"This is not serious Allison, I know you are winding me up - I am having no more to do with it".

Sonia has ratted the phone number to Cameron who in turn writes down the number of the club, hands it to John and says he can phone them after 12 when it opens, as they have to be there at 2pm.

John is still having none of this, takes the paper and tells them to be at Jenny's house when they arrive or they are both in deep deep trouble. "That is all I am saying on the matter" he says.

The females quickly go down the stairs and John follows them. Allison/Cameron stay upstairs.

'This is great fun' thinks Sarah who then says to Jenny "I will travel with you Jenny, can't have you all alone.

John & Sonia will go together in his jeep - as he walks out the door he looks back but no sign of anybody else.

Derek will be here soon, he is joining them but will travel alone (everybody armed of course).

After everybody have said their goodbyes, except John who ignores them, they get ready to head off to Jenny's house - they know John can not be tricked but it is funny never-the-less.

"remember to lock up when you go out girls, have fun" Sarah shouts so that they can hear upstair". "We will try" says Allison loudly back & almost immediately afterwards "tell John I will look after Allison" says Cameron. Allison giggles at Cameron for which Cameron notes and smiles back.

John heard but is still unconvinced - he knows anything is possible but just lets them get on with it, trusting his judgement (and theirs).

Derek arrives 10.35, the lookalikes are ready to join him and Allison gleefully tells him about their tease. He agrees to go along with it.

They lock up and set alarms, heading for 'Club Paradiso', then wait outside for it to open 2pm.

The Journey to Jenny's house is uneventful except that Jenny talks to Sarah about her fear for the future.

"I can not bear the thought of my younger self going through all that again. My brother and parents died at the hands of criminal gangs, I was able to run in to hiding. I was 12 when that happened. These things happened to so many people that I cry for everybody, not just for myself" said Jenny.

"I understand, I have had a hard existence but never suffered so much loss like you. If you wish to talk Jenny, please do, I will listen and try to understand" replied Sarah.

John speaks to Sonia and asks about the wind-up but she tells him it is true. John attempts conversation with Sonia which turns out to be quite enlightening when she is able to tell him many things about the future with older John. She has all those memories. He then discusses school with her and is surprised to find she likes lesley and explains why.

The entourage of 2 vehicles arrive 12:13pm. Once they are out of their vehicles and can be seen by the house occupants, the door opens wide and the 2 children run out towards Jenny. She is extremely pleased and realises that because she provided home, shelter & a place to feel safe, they must have developed a very strong bond to her, especially after receiving all the toys and food etc.

They all go inside and meet Connie & Ricci.

Later, Derek pulls up outside Jenny's house and sounds the horn. The curtains open and 2 little faces look out. He waves at them and smiles. Not long after, Sarah & Sonia's faces look out, followed by John's.

Derek gets out of his SUV and walks up to the door and is let in by Ricardo, who greets him.

Derek is good at keeping a straight face and says to John "I took them to 'Club Paradiso' and waited outside with them. They will be getting a taxi home after their audition. I can't believe they are going to be doing that. Allison suggested they can earn a lot of money and get more if they take everything off. Did you allow this John? I can't believe you would!"

"Derek, I know you are in on this, I know it is Christmas and everybody wants a good laugh but don't for one minute think I will forget this" says John smiling.

"Why don't you check for yourself, ring the club, they actually went in before I left" says Derek.

"Huh" says John and walks accross the room to introduce Derek to the others.

John is pretty sure he can expose this little prank and goes upstairs to make a phone call.

Lots of roudy noise in the background: "Club Paradiso" says a man's voice.

John says "have you got any new girls there today, twins?"

"Oh yes, indeed we have, they are doing their 'book-end' routine" says the man, whilst in the background can be heard "get em off" and all kinds of racket.

"If you say so, let me speak to one of them please" says John

"You'll have to wait until the routine is finished, otherwise they will not get their money" he says

"Do you know how old they are?"

"Allison told me they are 19, that is good enough for me"

"You better be kidding man, if you're not I'll be right down there" says John

"OK, we've had this before, jealous husband, boyfriend - you name it, we have had it. I will inform my doormen to be vigilant... good bye" then the man slams the phone down and smiles.

John phones Cameron but the phone does not answer. He goes downstairs in a huff but will try again soon.

10 minutes later, John phones again. Cameron sees it is John and quickly asks Allison to phone the club. After getting the club, Cameron answers the phone, in the background is the noise again. "Hello John, I see you have been calling me, we was busy, are you checking up on me?" Allison is killing herself but holding her mouth.

John is a little puzzled but can not believe what he is hearing. He blurts out to Cameron "if this is a wind-up, you are in deep trouble, believe me you will be punished. If this is not a wind-up, the same thing will happen" he says.

Cameron says so that he knows Allison is listening "Allison, John says we are going to be severely punished one way or the other, what is he going to do?" Allison grabs the phone and speaks to John "really John, we are looking forward to that, hurry home we are getting excited, especially after all this dancing".

"Huh" John puts the phone down and smiles, admittedly a little worried but smiles.

Allison, who is in Jenny's shed, thanks the club owner who says "any day, if you want to earn your money back, you know where to come". "We will think about it, bi" she says and clicks the phone off.

She actually held her phone against Cameron's phone so that John could hear the background noise.

Now they wait for Derek to keep to his plan.

John goes back downstairs to talk to Derek, who is not backtracking. He has told everybody in the room about the joke and they are waiting for the moment to erupt.

Connie has done her best with Ricci's help in making a roast dinner for everybody. Sarah, John & the children are starving and can't wait.

Connie calls from the kitchen that dinner is on the table. When they walk in to the dining area there is Cameron & Allison sitting there in green sparkly bikinis with a red feathery scarfs around their neck.

"Happy Christmas John" they both yell and everybody roars in to laughter.

"I don't care whether I believed you or not, I still loved the whole thing girls. Don't forget what I told you, I mean to do it" said John smiling with his hands raised. He continues "right, where are Dean & Marta Sitting?"

(John understands the significance of the bikinis.)

Jenny passes a dressing gown to both of the lookalikes and they quickly rush upstairs to change, smiling and talking.

Sonia has watched the whole thing and says to Sarah "everybody liked that joke, why was that? I checked John's stress levels as I walked past him and he seemed slightly elevated".

Later that afternoon, Jenny gets a phone call from Victoria who says "Vicki, Would you like to home-sit the children while we go to the ballet? Our baby-sitter can not do it any more, some excuse about parents coming" (Victoria is not telling the truth but thought it would be a good idea).

Jenny gasps out loud and shudders on the spot with excitement, much to the consternation of all around her.

"I would love to but the date on your tickets coincides with my guests being here tomorrow".

Victoria still does not understand why Louise(Jenny) acts the way she does, always seeming so overwrought with emotions the moment she talks to her about the children but says "Oh that's a shame, some other time perhaps?"

Jenny says, really really wishing the answer would be yes "there are 10 of us here, including 2 young children, they are welcome to stay over here with us".

"Perhaps that will be a good idea, if you think you can manage 2 extra, they are good children Louise".

"Yes, I know, I am sure they will not be any trouble. Would you hold the line a minute please Vicki" says Jenny.

Jenny tells the others who she has been asked to babysit and asks everybody in the room if they see a problem with this.

They all think, then Sarah says "perhaps it is not wise, if they are captured they could be forced to reveal your whereabouts".

"Hold on Jenny" says John.

"This is your life to live as you please but you bring danger to them".

Jenny speaks to Victoria again "I tried to find enough spaces for everybody but it is not possible, I am sorry Vicki, some other time perhaps".

Garrett comes to the phone "Louise, I know you need privacy, if it is that please speak to me now. If you carry something in your life, I am sure we can do something to help you".

Jenny says to Garrett "You are very insightful, you always were. Yes, it is a problem. You can all come here but you must never know where we live. Would you arrange to meet me in the town and agree to let Cameron blindfold you? I know all this sounds very weird, perhaps I should begin to explain things to you".

Sarah nods, as does John, they think it is a good idea to at least warn them about judgement day, so that they can be prepared.

"Sure Garrett, we will arrange to meet you halfway and bring you here. Everyone would love to meet you all, more than you can imagine, I'm sure".

Later, Everything goes according to plan and eventually Jenny's parents, sibling & self arrive back home.

The children are not blindfolded, they are young enough to disregard the journey.

Blindfolds off, Jenny's family walk indoors to a hearty welcome, offers of food drink etc.

Marta & Dean have their instructions, "no terminator or future talk". (yet !).

John is introduced to young Jenny and her brother Richard - this is the beginning of the emotional revelations and plays out like this:

John says "hello Richard, nice to meet you, hello Jenny I am extremely pleased to meet you, you are a very valuable girl, I want you to know that sincerely, a very valuable girl".

It is this that poor ol' Jenny can not take. She always fights her emotions when she meets her family and she makes a quiet "ooohhh" sound on the spot, tears start to emerge and her lip quivers, she turns red and puts her hand on Sarah's shoulder.

Quick thinking Sarah immediately puts her arms around Jenny and says "I know, I know, we are here Jenny".

'Jenny' think Garrett & Victoria, as they look at each other!

"I don't want me to go through all that again, I don't want any of it, I could not bear to think of that little girl going through all that again" says Jenny sobbing "I just can't".

"What is this, why are you called Jenny?" Says Garrett.

John speaks up and says "Marta, Dean, take little Jenny and Richard upstairs to see all your new things, Jenny is so happy it is making her cry.

Garrett, Victoria, we need to speak".

Jenny sits down with her hand on Sarah's shoulder, looking red faced.

"Would you like me to speak Jenny?" said John.

"If you think you can but please be tactful, these people are my family, I love them".

"OK Jenny, I will. Garrett, Victoria, everybody here knows what I am going to tell you, there are not any secrets here and it is important that you know... now is the time".

Garrett & Victoria, (Jenny's parents sit close to each other and wait for some kind of simple explanation but they will be nowhere near prepared for what they will hear but they will sit there in silence, occasionally looking at each other, open/closed mouths and hand holding).

John is painfully aware that they will need to provide evidence.

He begins "You will be wondering why our Jenny is so emotional when she is in contact with you, especially the children. What I am going to tell you is the truth" He looks at Jenny, who still looks terribly sad & her parents look at her too and feel terrible for this woman who has helped them financially all these years.

John continues "I think the best thing to do is provide some proof before I continue talking. Sonia, please do not cause any alarm but give them your light show".

Sonia obliges.

The Beals(Garrett/Victoria), are amused but not exactly 'blown away'.

John thinks he will leave it at that for now and continues "Jenny here is your daughter, she was sent back from 2024 to 1963. She is now approx. 68 years old - your Jenny upstairs is our Jenny".

John knows what to expect and sure enough they 'pooh-pooh' him.

John is worried that they will want to get up and leave but he does not want them to do that, so he decides on another tactic.

"Do you remember the bank that blew up in 1963 which killed Sarah & John Connor and another unknown female who they claim to be their daughter? It was the security trust of los angeles, Jenny opened an account there".

"Yes" they say.

"Can you imagine people surviving a massive explosion like that?"

Garrett says "not really but if you are criminals we would like to go now".

John carries on "no, we are not criminals. We need you to understand that we are here to help you. Jenny do you feel up to telling them what only you can possibly know about them, otherwise I will have to give them coltan proof and I don't think that is a good idea".

"OK John, I will try".

Jenny looks at her parents and says "John mentioned the bank because there was something in the basement that I built. It transported them through time. Please keep listening until I have finished. I can tell you things about yourselves that nobody but your daughter could know.

She asked you where she, or should I say I, was born. It was July 11 1999 4 o'clock in the morning. I remember that every year we go to a farm and pick blueberries. This summer, I got stung and cried, typical eh" She says smiling.

"You stopped off at a drug store on the way home and bought some cream and rubbed it on to my arm, just here. You sat in the back seat with me so nobody else could have possibly seen or known.

When we got home, Dad carried the blueberries indoors and asked you if we was having muffins, you said 'yes'. You always make lovely spongy muffins, I love them and you know it.

Remember when we parted last time Mom, I mentioned a big box. Inside the box was another red dress, this time suitable for going to watch the opera tomorrow, with the jacket to go with it. You tried it on after I left and your children said how nice you looked, myself & Richard that is.

Perhaps now you know how I knew about 'woman in red'?"

Jenny waits for a response. Victoria speaks up "you are right, only little Jenny could know that, are you a clairvoyant or something?"

Jenny sighs, looking sad she turns her head to Sarah, who in turn says "John, I'm afraid more proof is needed, please be careful".

Sonia & Allison are standing by the stairs, just in case Jenny/Richard run down.

Cameron goes over to the kitchen and gets a sharp knife. Unfortunately it is the usual proof that is needed.

She comes back holding it then John butts in. "hold it Cam, I need to say something else".

John continues "On the TV recently, there was a daring rescue of the Dysons and Sofia Vassilieva, that was us. The Dysons were kidnapped by an android from the future, larger and stronger than both Sonia and Cameron but we were able to destroy it. The only way we could do it was with our own cute androids who both stand over there together. OK Cam, you can do it now, Sonia included".

Cameron has learnt not to cause alarm and merely inserts the knife up her arm then hands the knife to Sonia, who runs the blade accross the top of her hand. They hold the bloody flesh back to reveal the coltan endoskeletal design.

John continues "If you look closely you will see that there is not any trickery involved, it really is their skin that has been cut. They were not in pain because they turned off their sensations. They have the ability to kill, that is what they were built for in the year 2024 but their advanced neuro chip rose above their objective to kill and that is why they are here with us now. We are all extremely grateful to have them with us and I have become very much attached to Cameron, Sonia too but she is becoming attached to somebody else, so I understand" he smiles at Sonia and she says "yes, Lesley, she likes me very much and asked me to kiss her".

"What", said a few voices in the room.

"she asked me to kiss her but I am playing hard to get".

Everybody laughs and it is not long after that that Garrett & Victoria see the funny side of things and smile nervously.

John raises his voice above the laughter and speaks to them again, saying "there is plenty of proof that I can provide you with. We are telling you all this for your own safety and Jenny really is valuable to me in the future.

We escaped from the bank vault using the time displacement equipment that Jenny built there. That is why future me sent her back.

Allison is human (John points to her), Cameron was modelled on her in 2024 with the intention of killing her and then me but it never happened.

Jenny here really loves you, I know you feel like you are her daughter but you really are her mother. I know I am only 16 myself but I have lived a life like no other, running from the machines". John slowly walks over to Victoria, smiles at Garrett then gives Vicki a hug.

Finally John says "Jenny, I know you want to, give your Mom a hug before it kills you".

Jenny smiles and gets up. Vicki goes over and they hold each other for ages.

Even now Vicki does not 'get it' but she reciprocated because of all the help that her Louise has given her over the years and the unbelievable shocks they have had today.

Allison tries to break the ice and speaks up to the twins "would you like me to sew you up Sonia, Vicki might do it for you Cameron if you ask her".

Garrett speaks "Vicki, did you hear that, Cameron needs your help".

Vicki looks over and says "she does?"

"Yes, would you sew up my arm please?" says Cameron as she takes the darning box from Sarah.

After some encouragement from the others, including Derek, who has been quiet all this time, Victoria agrees.

Cameron tells Vicci that she can switch off her sensations, otherwise it would be very painful. Cameron continues talking to Vicki, knowing how important her trust is & tells her that she can talk to Sonia without anybody hearing them.

As the needle goes in for the 2nd time Vicci pricks her finger, she is nervous.

Cameron touches her finger and licks the blood, then says "your blood type is A+, your daughter Jennifer is not the same, hers is B+. I know this because I inserted a coltan rod in her arm in 2024 before she came back to 1963 - she called me a metal bitch when I did it because there was not any anaesthetic".

Jenny is listening and says "yes, I have already apologised Cameron, surely you don't hold grudges... do you? she says smiling. (at last) Jenny continues "here is where my arm broke and where Cameron inserted the rod from a destroyed android - they used plasma to cut the rods".

Jenny goes over and shows her arm to Garrett and Victoria, then explains the bar-code on her arm. "It was burnt on when I was 13" she says, then continues "I was 12 when I first had to do what you are doing, it was my friend Lucy & she died from infection and weakness caused by nuclear fallout".

John has heard enough and tries to speak for the last time to the Beals

"Victoria, your daughter lived in the post-apocalyptic future for 13 years before future me sent her back to perform her valuable task to help the resistance fight the computers. Skynet, the US military computer became self aware, rose up and fired nuclear warheads at the USSR who in turn retaliated and killed billions of people. I know the USSR broke up but that future has changed now.

Now is not a good time to continue this conversation, I hope that everything I have told you is acceptable as we would like to talk about the celebrations of Christmas and have a good time.

Allison and Cameron have already played a practical joke on me today. I am sure Allison would get the greatest of pleasure in telling you all about it" he says smiling at the Beals.

"Yes, he has promised to punish us" says Cameron smiling (she is learning from Allison).

Allison blurts it all out, giving 'evil Derek' a mention & is successful in bringing a smile to Garrett's face.

"Oh, so that is how you managed to get the sound effects, don't think I will forgive you both" said John smiling.

"Yes, we have not forgotten John, Cameron is very submissive when you act tough, I have seen her shaking after you tell her off" says Allison smiling.

"Now I am hearing a few home truths, what about you Sonia, does anybody frighten you?" Said Derek, with a big beam on his face.

Sonia says "why would anybody frighten me?"

"I'll leave this one with you Vicki, I can't explain it myself, I might break out in laughter" said Derek.

Vicki looked at Garrett and said "what do I say to that"?

Garrett merely says "tell Sonia that it is a silly joke because we can see she is a tough chic and does not have any reason to be afraid of anybody but it might be a good idea to pretend Lesley makes her nervous because she has not kissed anybody before!"

"Sounds good" said Vicci.

Sonia considers this and will put it in to practise.

Ricci & Conny have been upstairs most of the time listening to little Jenny & Richard talk to Marta & Dean.

Ricardo suggested they all play snap to see how they get on. After a while the children want to go downstairs and play with the adults, especially now that they have learnt a new word.

Dean speaks to Sarah "Sarah, Ricci & Conny have told me that in Mexico they say 'ola' instead of 'snap' and the name Chasquido could be used. Would you and Vicci like to join in?"

They do and as soon as one of them is not looking Marta does the hand slap and all the children have a big laugh. "Ow", said Vicci, "that's not in the game". "Sorry, I forgot to tell you that if somebody is not looking they get a hand slap, it is a new rule" said little Jenny.

During this time, Sarah is explaining to the Beals how Marta & Dean came to be with them and how Conny was one of their scouts looking out for terminators and food but is also their mother. She tells them how brave Allison is and deserves a place in the house. "Not many girls would risk death the way she does, she took the lorry keys from a terminator and prayed that Derek would get there in time to save her. Fortunately you did Derek, otherwise you would have had me to answer to" said Sarah with an evil smile on her face.

"Srite Sarah, not the kind of thing I want to live with".

Cameron thinks that now is a good time to make her input and says "Allison is brave to the point of exhaustion. She was interrogated by Skynet for 2 days and never told them anything, it was only the bracelets worn by the resistance that gave her away. Then I.."

"Cameron" shouts Sarah, "that will be enough, we have heard it before".

"What" says Garrett, Sarah replies "next time we meet I promise to tell you, now is not the time Cameron".

"Ha, you are more like a mother to the cyborgs every day Mom, what do I add to your resume, Sarah Con... er Sarah Baum, Alias Lara Croft, Alias the hustler, now Alias the mom of all moms" hahaha.

"Good one" says Derek, she has already put me in my place and no doubt I will hear more about the topless bar before very long. I didn't even do anything, just imagine if I did?".

Garrett & Vicki are amused.

The Beals stay another hour and feel confident enough to leave the children with them on the understanding that nothing bad is said because they went back upstairs and are explaining things to Contessa's children, being very kind and do not taunt their lack of education.

Jenny goes with Cameron to the car again and puts blindfolds over the Beals' eyes.

On the way to the Beals' car, Jenny tells them about Sofia Vassilieva and what a nice girl she was, how she tended to the Dysons and helped them.

"We dismantled the terminator cyborg and I used my skills learnt when I was a prisoner of Skynet to find out where it had kept the Dysons prisoner" said Jenny.

Jenny continues to say to them

"It murdered the man who owned the flat and tried to destroy Sonia but John and his team rescued her. It broke her leg and I had to help her repair it using the servo motor from the terminator that we destroyed. Can you imagine slicing through her leg to do a job like that. I never dreamt in a million years that I would end up doing all these things. Placing memory chips in cyborg heads, Cameron's for instance, arranging midnight reprogramming runs, eating rats every day. Mom, Dad, how can I say Mom Dad, it sounds ridiculous, shall we stick with Garrett & Vicki?

Everybody stays quiet and Jenny just talks and talks.

Eventually they reach the Beals car and stop then take off the blindfolds.

"There is one thing that puzzles me" says Jenny, "what is it that swayed your thinking of us?"

Garrett says "I spoke to Vicci and asked her what she thought. She said it was a while ago when you gave my children those books, knowing they would like them because after that our Jenny has done so much in her studies on subjects like science and maths, plus her forums that we never dreamt she even had in her. You awoke her and we never even knew".

Vicki adds "Cameron, I am astounded that you came to see me, you an android fooled me completely, that is amazing". How did you find Jenny?

Cameron explains that she attached a data collector to Garrett's computer and was able to get the information on his banking activities and then trace his bank and ultimately trace Jenny that way.

"So that is how you did it" says Jenny, that's impressive.

"It's what we do, we never stop until you are found and if I was sent to terminate you, you would be dead".

"Thank you Cameron, we understand" said Jenny.

"Was that bad to say that?" said Cameron.

Garrett says "yes Cameron, it was a bit harsh - will your arm heal up?".

"Yes, we heal very fast and there will not be a scar - it will be healed within 36 hours".

"One advantage to Skynet technology from 2024 is that if we can destroy Skynet, some of it's technology can be used to heal mankind" said Jenny.

They make their departing farewells and Jenny says she will wait for their phone call - "If you don't call me, we will come to you" she says.

30 December 2008.

It is over 24 hours since Garrett & Victoria left the Connor clan and they have been to the Opera and enjoyed it very much, a welcome break from all that they have learnt, although it never leaves their minds, even if they do not talk about it.

Vicci phones Jenny and tells her as much with a very euthusiastic tone.

"Hi Jenny, we had a great time and now I want to find how the children are with you"

"They are fine Vicci, no nightmares or anything. It might be Christmas and cold but they are finding plenty to keep themselves amused here. We haven't told them anything about anything so you need not worry. Let's hope history is not so severe next time."

Jenny continues "I assume you will want to see us soon or would you prefer I bring the kids to you? I will answer that question, I will bring them to you, I assume that is OK?"

"OK, we will wait for you. Garrett has just passed on his regards and says you can all come if you like"

Later that day they all arrive at the Beal house, Derek included, although Jesse is waiting for him but Derek is intrigued to find friends in this hostile world. It shouldn't be but it is!

Ricci brought his guitar and Conny has brought the children who accompany him in his car. Not un-noticed by Jenny. They will all have a sing-song later, that will go down well.

Later, Ricci is asked to accompany Sonia whilst she sings 'hopelessly devoted to you' from the film Grease that they saw.

Unfortunately it is Allison's turn to cry and it is all the more worse that everybody knows why. Connie tries to console her and takes her outside, such is the situation.

Garrett & Vicki are indeed touched by this and are warming to the band of Jennie's friends.

Jenny says "Garrett, can you sing 'lady in red' again, I want to join Vicki in a good cry?"

He agrees and Ricci strums his guitar. Sure enough, it is Jenny and Vicki's turn to leave the room holding arms over shoulders - the deep meaning to that song is so painful for them both and this time it is little Jenny's turn to witness the similar event, which will probably be remembered in just the same way that big Jenny did all those years ago. Garrett is visibly shocked but stays with the others.

Sonia asks a question directed at anybody after doing a small bit of ratting with Cameron. "again the women cry after hearing a song, why is that?"

Allison, who has returned in to the room, says, "Sarah shall I answer this one or would you prefer to?"

Sarah says "If somebody wrote or sung something nice about my Kyle, I am sure I would cry too. It is an emotion also shared by men and children, strange to explain but it is important for humans to cry even when they are happy because that emotion is very strong and happiness sometimes needs crying to make you feel that you have reached the peak of happiness !".

(unison) "Thank you for explaining". This is of course followed by laughter, John has to explain this to the Beals.

Finally, Victoria suggests the whole family go & see a show that the children will enjoy too. "bring all the family & friends John. I know the girls will like it, Allison, Sonia, Cameron, Connie & your little girl - I bet the boys & guys will like it too - it will be a great night out".

"Sure Vicci, I will get back to you on that" said Jenny.

In the next chapter, some interesting things happen when the Connor teens and their cyborg companions return to school. Sarah finds some interesting money-making schemes without causing too much hassle or danger to human life.

Is it possible for Sonia(TOK-715) to feel jealousy?

Thanks for all your feedback, I am bearing them all in mind when I write - not all incidents appeal to all people, so I guess some action which is different from the norm is called for.

Considering that my earlier chapters might mislead some people, I am glad others stuck with it. There is nothing untoward, I assure you.


	10. Chapter 10

**Important: This chapter addresses many questions or issues that might have occurred to fans who watched the episode Vicks Chip. He was married to Barbara Chamberlain - now that is quite some infiltration!**

**Not to everybody's taste but now it will be done and dusted.**

When everybody gets back to Jenny's residence, it is 9:30pm, only 2.5 hours until New Year's Eve. Jenny points this out to everybody. Jenny & Conny take the children upstairs and stay with them.

Cameron & Sonia are anxious about leaving their own residence empty any longer.

Sarah agrees and suggests making the journey home to check things out.

Sonia has an idea, pretty strange for a developing AI but that is how she works. She speaks up and says "I will go home alone and keep guard whilst you all stay here, I will be OK. I would also like to check the internet for threats and find other things to do. Cameron can phone me at midnight when humans celebrate the New Year, I know all your customs".

Everybody looks puzzled for a short while but assumes it is not really a cyborg thing after all.

Very soon afterwards, Cameron goes to the SUV with her, neither of them showing any human traits and removes some of the weapons and ammo to take indoors. The vehicle starts up and drives off - Cameron comes back indoors and smiles at everyone.

They all look at her and Derek speaks up "is she OK Cameron?" "Yes Derek, she will be OK, nothing to concern yourself over".

Derek says "Is she coming back?" Cameron replies "no".

"Oh well, not to worry, still plenty of room in our vehicles".

John says "this time I will phone her at midnight, I don't want her to think we don't miss her, I won't make that mistake again".

Sarah replies "I will remind you". Allison says the same with the sentence with the word "too" added at the end.

-0-

When Sonia reaches home, everything is fine. She checks all around the house, makes sure all the hidden items are still there. She goes to Cameron's room and gets a small box with a ribbon around it, removes the label and replaces it with another one and writes on it. She also writes on a piece of paper 'Cameron, I will buy you a replacement 'tight present' as I need this one.

She finds a nice girly dress and accessories that only girls know, plaits her hair in the Sofia fashion age 16 and is set to go. She takes the box downstairs with her and then sets the alarm and locks up.

She goes for a walk with only a glock concealed behind her, cellphone in her pocket.

25 minutes later she reaches a house with a row of white lights across the front door overhang roof, lighting up the 4 red steps to the front door. She presses the doorbell.

A young man answers the door, sees Sonia and says "hello **Sonia**, this is a surprise".

"Is Lesley at home?"

Just then Lesley pushes past him and says "Lionel, some privacy please".

He understands, smiles at Sonia then walks away. Sonia can tell he is not far away but disregards him and speaks to Lesley.

"My place is empty tonight if you want to come and talk to me. I have got a lot of things I would like to ask you".

Lesley is over the moon and immediately says "stay there, I will be back" then turns quick, curses Lionel and punches his arm as he continues to grin at her. She rushes upstairs and 5 minutes later comes back down with a change of clothes, blue low-cut dress, (quite short as well), plus light mauve stockings with the required attachments. A small bag and smelling faintly of a recently perfumed spray.

Sonia hands her the present and says "a tight present, I hope you like it".

"Oh, that is thoughtful Sonia, I didn't know you were coming, otherwise I would have got you something".

Sonia remembers the advice that Garrett gave her and feigns a little nervousness, looks downwards and says "you could give me a kiss on the cheek".

Lesley is overjoyed, especially because she looks like Sofia Vassilieva too, a double bonus and gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Lesley says to Lionel "I know you are there, I will be away for the new year, you know my mobile number but if you ring me I will come back and throttle you - Sonia will help me, won't you Sonia".

"Yes". (Try to remember the 'yes' that Cameron spoke when Morris asked her out).

This might sound strange but many words spoken by humans still baffle Sonia, this one included but she assumes it has been said as a joke, even if Lesley is not smiling.

When they get home Sonia lets Lesley in and says "is there anything that you would like?" (Not exactly a subtle question).

Lesley looks up quickly and says "well, that was to the point, yes there is something I would like, come and sit next to me".

Sonia detects an increase in Lesley's level of attentiveness and her pupils have dilated further. She wonders if what she said was construed as a suggestion unrelated to food or drink but sits as Lesley suggests.

Lesley says "what were the things you wanted to ask me Sonia" as she leans forward slightly to watch her face and hear her reply.

"Most humans choose a mate that is the opposite sex but I have studied internet articles and seen TV programs where this is not the case. I am much happier when I am near to you, because my levels of satisfaction rises more when I am with you than anybody else I know. Do you feel the same way and have chosen me for the same reason?"

Lesley looks at Sonia quite surprised and says "when you say humans, are you saying that you are not human?... that is a joke... and yes, I do feel the same way".

Upon hearing this, Sonia wonders if it would matter if Lesley knew she was an android, like Cameron is to John. She knows she cannot tell her this but that question is one that she would like to have answered. Sonia feels that it would make her much happier if Lesley knew. Obviously these thoughts take less than a second to compute.

"Forget all that Sonia, you are here and I want you".

(A description of what happens after this is best left to the imagination but if it is a lesbian porn video that you are picturing, then you are completely on the wrong track - It is **not** Serena Williams tennis playing a Russian on centre court sound effects scenario emanating from the downstairs settee or later the bedroom. Much much nicer than that - on the other hand none of that might be happening! read on.)

-0-

At Jenny's joint, the children are allowed to stay up until midnight, in fact they are quite used to unusual hours. They are learning a few Spanish words from Ricardo and for some reason he says things and they are laughing. Cameron & Sarah begin to listen in on the upstairs conversation only to find that he is asked a few naughty words that the kids have learnt in the tunnels and he has tried to translate them.

Sarah jumps up and beckons Conny to come with her and walk quietly up the stairs. They stand there for a while listening then suddenly open the door. Conny says some ostracizing remarks to Ricci, who looks at her grinning and the kids laugh their heads off.

"Oh well, it is new year's eve but if I find out that you have translated any more words that are disgusting and any more that they have in the pipeline, I will 'terminate you' " said Sarah, as she walked towards him and drew her gun (but did not point it at him).

Ricci quaked a bit but the kids still laughed a lot because this kind of action was not beyond their experience in the tunnels and they even seemed to know that it was said in jest.

Sarah walks out the room but Conny stays

She says a little more spanish to Ricci with her finger waving up and down. The kids have quietened down at last but still smile.

Conny speaks in English "remember, I have instructed my little bambinos to be nice little kiddies when they go to school soon, if any nasty words pop out of their mouths at school, you will be marched by Sarah to the school person in charge and he will deal with you".

Sarah hears this and smiles, then starts talking to Derek, John, Jenny, Allison about their 'nice' little chat upstairs, which draws lots of laughter.

Derek says "Cameron heard it all too, she must not use swear words or cursing either John, I hope you have got her trained".

'That sounds jibey to me but it doesn't matter, I still think it is funny' thought John as he smiled sarcastically at Derek.

This is Allison's moment: "Yes John, we need to be taught how to be ladies of 2009 soon, is the future leader of mankind up to the job?" Big smile.

All eyes on John ... "I will delegate Mom for that job, add to her resume, 'language coach' ".

-0-

3 hours earlier, Sonia says these words to Lesley after some thought "I know why you like me. It is because I look like Sofia Vassilieva but I also know there is more than that. You want to find out more about me and there is a lot more to me than you could ever imagine. You enjoyed my responses to the things that you said to me. When you first approached me with your smile, I knew you was genuine.

I like you because you are pretty, not because you resemble Uma Thurman's younger self. You are good at gymnastics and sport and one day you will be very important.

I want to learn how to feel things the same way that other people do in relationships. I want you to be that person and teach me how a woman should feel. I have feelings, sensations, and I want to know if I can ever love you. Our relationship must be special. Could you reciprocate and feel that you could not be without me, no matter what I am like?"

Lesley is puzzled by this sudden outpouring, not really dwelling on the 'no matter what I am like' bit and says a few words then asks a simple question.

"Wow, that was quite something, I am quite shocked. I never thought that far in to the future but if that is what you want, and then I am certainly keen to go all the way with you if necessary and see how things turn out.

You do realize that at school I get hassle from quite a few of the other students, would this worry you?"

"No" says Sonia, "words do not hurt me, I am used to them because of what I am. I have heard lots of things from people that are supposed to be friends". (Sonia is thinking of herself as Cameron in the future with John).

Lesley says "Firstly Sonia, I need to know that you feel sexually attracted to me, it is no good if you just like me?"

Sonia knows that she can create this emotion and is determined to add this sensation to a special part of her database and let it grow to the point that she is reliant on it, just like hard-coding.

She looks at Lesley and says "that is not a problem I have already got 'a girl crush' on you. The kind of 'girl crush' that stirs me. It is your job to help this feeling grow in me because I want you very much".

(Sonia chose the words 'girl crush' after hearing it on TV).

Inside Sonia's chip mind she is whirring her thoughts around, trying to find something from her infiltration techniques for this situation but there is not much there and she does not want to think of Allison.

All of a sudden she hears Lesley say "Aren't you going to try and loosen me up with a few drinks, hell I can see you need loosening up too".

Sonia knows this means alcohol and says "I don't know what we have. I will go and have a look".

Over in a cabinet there is an assortment and she reads the labels, passing the information to Lesley. When she returns with the required bottle and 2 glasses, Lesley makes a suggestion.

"Tonight is a special night. I don't think we should stay in. Why don't you take me out to a nightclub somewhere with dancing girls and flashing lights".

This is where things and choices are not wisely made: Sonia says "I know a nice place where we can watch a girly show. We might have a good time".

As she drinks, Lesley says "Great, fill me in. Ooh I hate that phrase, guys say things like that to me, let me rephrase that... tell me how we can get there".

"I think I know what you mean by that phrase, has it got something to do with burying your body?"

Lesley laughs a lot and eventually says "no silly, I mean tell me the answer, like a crossword puzzle... not the other that men would like to... come on Sonny, surely you must have cottoned on by now?"

Sonia says "oh, I understand now, it means ejaculating, thank you for explaining".

"That's all right, that's what I'm here for but you really don't have to get right to the point - I have a lot of work to do with you". said Lesley

"Really, am I lacking a lot of human understanding?" said Sonia (who worded it that way as a hint).

Lesley says, "as soon as you are ready let's go, I am looking forward to some entertainment tonight" as she smiles at her with an impish grin.

Sonia takes her date out in the SUV to the 'Club Paradiso' as she knows what the entertainment should be like, after talking to Cameron. She thinks Lesley will enjoy this because women do sexy dancing, or so she thinks because men like it. Lesley likes girls, so she should like it too.

She parks up and walks arm in arm with Lesley down the street and around the corner. She knows they will not be allowed guns but is not too concerned as John is safe with Cameron, Sarah and the others. She has left weapons concealed in the SUV and because Sarah is always careful, has a radio transmitter in their vehicles that will alert her if the car alarm goes off through her receiver in her handbag.

Upon entering the club, Sonia will not be recognized as she has not been there before. They find a place to buy a drink, which is quite expensive.

Lesley says "this place is not exactly what I had in mind but I will stay a while and see how things go".

Sonia replies "Oh, you must choose where to go if we go out together again".

The pair find a seat & sit down near the front.

Sonia is constantly checking their environment, listening but most importantly watching Lesley to assess her response to the girls. After a while she says "do you like this kind of thing?"

Lesley says "not really, it is too coarse for me, I prefer class".

"Oh, I am sorry, shall I take you somewhere nicer?" said Sonia.

"How about bed? I think you are the class that I have in mind"

Sonia looks at Lesley, she is smiling. She can see the idea makes her happy. This is the outcome that Sonia has planned anyway, as she wants to experience 'the human experience' and Lesley is ideal.

She smiles at Lesley and agrees to her idea.

As the pair get up, the guys on the next table look at them. One of them says "are you getting ready to come on next gals?"

"No, we are going because this place has not got any taste" says Lesley.

"you could change that if you were to take their places, how about it?" he says.

"No thanks, come on Sonia, lets get going".

They get up and leave but as they walk towards the entrance, the guys get up. They have drunk quite a bit and the mouthy one feels a little insulted. He walks quickly towards the entrance to catch up with Sonia & Lesley - the other guys follow.

The moment Sonia is walking down the street with Lesley, she detects multiple fast footsteps behind.

They walk around the corner and the footsteps develop in to running.

"Walk to the car Lesley, I need to do something. Do not stop" says Sonia.

Lesley is nervous and walks on. The 4 guys turn the corner, Sonia is standing there waiting for them.

"Ah, so you waited for us, look guys, she is up for it. I don't suppose your friend is interested too is she?" he says with a massive grin on his face.

"I am here to warn you to walk back to the club, otherwise I will have to deal with all of you. I do not want my girlfriend to come to any harm, so you must walk away now".

They all laugh loud and one of them walks towards Lesley. This is it, the action starts now.

Sonia rushes after the guy that is heading for Lesley and pushes him in to a car. The other 3 run up to Sonia and grab her arms and legs. She kicks her leg up which meets his midriff and he flies backwards. Then wisks her arms in the air releasing the other 2's grips.

One of them produces a knife and points it towards Sonia - he says "now stay still and do as I say and you will be OK".

Lesley screams "Sonia", who in turn hits the guy without a knife across the side of his shoulder knocking him sideways.

The knife is plunged in to Sonia's chest beneath her breasts but of course only her blouse and flesh are pierced.

"Sonia no 'SCREEK' ".

Sonia's eyes turn red, she lifts the man up the same way that a mother would lift her child and throws him through the back window of a car.

Sonia turns, walks towards Lesley, clicks open the car and then says "Lesley, please come with me".

Lesley snaps out of it, her mouth was open but now it is shut. She does as she is told and opens the car door and gets in. Then she looks behind her out of the rear window, stares at the men, of which only the one on the pavement is moving.

"How did you do that?" she says. "It is not a problem for me. You are my girlfriend and I will protect you. I want to take you home to bed, you asked me to too."

"You sure can. I was really freaked out back there. I hope you're not thinking of changing your mind?"

"No".

Off they drive. Sonia wonders if it is true that if your girlfriend has the shit scared out of her, it makes her more sexy? 'I will ask Lesley tomorrow and also ask her why they phrase it that way'.

-0-

Midnight arrives at Jenny's house, they give her the task of counting down from 60 using Cameron's chronometer. Cameron stands behind Jenny, sees everyone's joy at what she is doing and a smile comes to her face.

She whispers, having just been shown what a whisper is like by Dean who showed her with a pretty good demonstration. Mind you, Cameron did have to modify her voice to sound like a whisper because there is not any air in her non-existent lungs to force through her lips but she made do with a pretty awesome emulation which was greeted with claps and "whoo hoo" etc.

60, 60, 59, 59 down to 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 - "HAPPY NEW YEAR". John is still dialing Sonia's cellphone but there is still not any reply.

-0-

2 hours earlier, when Sonia & Lesley arrive home, they get out the car and shut the doors. It is at that moment that Lesley says "Sonny, you have been stabbed, I will phone an ambulance" she pulls out her phone.

"There is not any need, I am not hurt, it is only a flesh wound. Please put the phone away, my wound can be treated indoors".

Lesley does so and walks with Sonia to the door, looking at her face, her wound, her face, her wound, her face, her wound.

When they get indoors Lesley says "please let me treat that for you, it must hurt like mad".

"We can go upstairs to the bathroom and you can wash it, I will bring a needle and cotton up with me" said Sonia.

"What, is it that bad?" "Yes, it is 4 inches wide. Would you like to sew it up for me, I feel that you should know more about me for our relationship to develop" said Sonia, who should not be saying or doing things like this but is using her own free will to develop a relationship without any secrets or lies.

Lesley stays quiet because she is not sure what to say and follows Sonia upstairs after she fetched the darning box. She sits on a chair next to the bath, removes her top and Lesley gasps.

"Oh my god, what are you? You're not normal, why do you have metal on your chest? It's under your skin, have you had an operation?"

"No Lesley, would you please sit down next to me, I don't want you to be frightened, I am not here to hurt you, I want to learn to love you if you will let me. Here, I have threaded the needle, would you please sew it up for me?" Sonia has bent the very thin needle.

Lesley stands up and backs towards the door aghast.

Sonia says "If you want to go, I will understand. I will wait for you. That is how relationships work. Please come back one day".

Lesley backs out of the door, goes downstairs and slides out the front door, looking backwards all the time.

Sonia does the job herself and very soon she is sewn up & cleaned up. She sits there and processes what has happened. She had made her mind up she wanted Lesley and now she has gone. She just sat there, playing events over and over until there was not much more left to think. Only 15 minutes had passed.

She got up, went downstairs and saw the door was open just wide enough for Lesley to slip out.

She leaves the door open and sits on the settee just staring at it, almost as though she was in standby, perhaps she was.

Another 32m 45s passes, and then all of a sudden the door creaked.

Sonia looked up expecting only 1 person. There she was, Lesley. Sonia's eyes began to produce a few tears of happiness, the emotion that she had pushed to the limit of her panning for extreme happiness. Almost immediately a massive smile came to her lips and she sat there with her lip looking like it was pouting.

Lesley walks over, sees Sonia and cannot believe what she is seeing. She kneels down in front of Sonia and puts her arms around her.

"You're mine, all mine and that's how it is going to stay. You're special, I don't want anybody else to have you." said Lesley.

A kind of low pitch sobbing wail comes from Sonia.

Lesley gets up, walks towards the stairs and says "bed, which one is it?"

Sonia jumps up and a rush to the stairs then says "I will show you, and then you can have another look at my injury".

"I would like that. Sorry I ran off, I was frightened"'

"I thought you might be but I never took you out to be attacked on purpose, it just happened. I need help from you in choosing what is best for you. It will be New Year in 10 minutes, are you ready to celebrate?"

"Definitely, with a bang but I have a lot of questions to ask and depending on whether you answer them depends on how things proceed" says Lesley with a smirk.

Lesley has changed her stance now and the pair sits on the side of the bed.

Lesley asks Sonia all the obvious questions but before that she says to Sonia

"I never planned to have feelings for someone like you, what planet did you come from" she says in a manner that she hopes will be answered with the correct replies.

"I was built by a highly evolved computer here in the year 2024. It was self-aware and developed exponentially at a phenomenal speed and built me to infiltrate the human resistance.

My model was designed to be attractive to their leader. Once I met him, I was programmed to kill him but the computer did not envisage that my advanced chip would develop an ability to think for itself.

I chose not to join the Skynet computer in its bid to destroy the human race because the final outcome would leave this planet barren of all living things.

Humans are intrinsically flawed but they have the ability to rise above things that are bad and create a life much more worthwhile than Skynet ever could.

I was sent back from 2027 to protect a male in my group.

Recently I returned to 2024 to fetch my exact Cyborg self and later named it Sonia, who is in fact my own self from the same reality, originally named Cameron, who is also in our group".

Lesley replies "really? I don't entirely understand, nor can I believe those things are possible but because you are here, I guess it must be possible.

Are you completely like me or are you not quite? What I mean is... er... let's put it this way, if I had a look or a feel, would I find that you can have a baby?"

Sonia looks slightly unhappy but is still OK with the question and says "I am just like you but I do not possess anything behind my uterus. There is not any room in my frame for a womb or the organs necessary to sustain a growing fetus.

Does that upset you?"

Lesley says "No, but it is sad. You told me you wanted to experience things from me like normal woman but it would not be possible if I could not be turned on by you. You are like me, so I am happy.

In fact, you are so terrifically different, that I am in awe of you".

To break the ice, Lesley puts her arms up then places her hands on Sonia's neck then quickly gives her a kiss on the lips, a real hard smacker.

"Make sure you show me your feelings of pleasure Sonia, I need to know if I make you happy" said Lesley

"I will, I promise".

The time after this is well spent and Sonia is enjoying all that Lesley dreams up. She was so carried away by the terrific sexual experiences that she did not do something as trivial as checking her cellphone. Lesley turned it off to ensure privacy 3 minutes earlier whilst her other hand was doing amazing things.

Lesley loves Sonia's response, 'so much like other girls... and more'. Also, thoughts buzz through her mind like 'this is madness' and 'why am I so excited by this robot' and 'she is so real' and 'will the novelty wear off' but most of all 'this hot girl is my girl, my dirty little secret'.

It is that last thought that drives Lesley on with excited vigor, but trying to be as sensitive as possible to see if Sonia can feel it.

'Kissing around' and gentle squeezing of breasts whilst causing sensations elsewhere are just part of the pattern of events. 'Hurting a little is nice'.

Sonia occasionally looks down past her stomach to see if it really is a tongue causing all that pleasure.

'This is amazing, her tastes and smells really are like other girls, this is great, she is really real' thinks Lesley.

Then she thinks 'and getting moister too!'.

This seems to go on for quite a long time, 1h 24 minutes to be precise before they even change places.

1h 33m later...

All of a sudden, unheard by Sonia who has devoted all her major processing to the incredible sensations that she is feeling, such as the penetration of Lesley's hand, some figures start to walk up the stairs.

Now Sonia has heard something, she lets go of Lesley's shoulders, jumps backwards to free herself from Lesley's hand with a 'sloop' and pushes her on the floor with an "aaaagghh" as the door flies open.

There they are, piling in the room one by one with guns drawn.

The 2 bed girls are starker's and easy targets.

"What the hell is this" says Derek, "I never thought I would say this again but now I really have seen it all"

"Lesley" shouts Sonia, "help me".

"Help you in what way" said Allison, laughing her head off.

This brings a smile to Sarah's lips and she says "happy new year", pretty witty for her newly invigorated brain.

John smiles, holds Cameron's hand and says "Take your clothes off Cameron, we seem to be witnessing and missing something special here". Cameron puts her hands down to pull her top up but John grabs her hands and says "I was only joking, silly joke, don't bother trying to understand it, it just popped in to my head and now it must be erased".

"Shall we leave you 2 girls alone now Sonia, or would you prefer to introduce us? - I still need an explanation why you refused to answer your phone but I guess you did not want to?"

Derek jumps in, holds his hand out, "I'm Derek" and walks towards Lesley for a joke. Predictably she yells "get away from me".

"Only joking, come on guys let's get out of here, I think we spoilt something", then he turns and walks out before someone says something like "perv" or "too young".

Sonia speaks up and says "I did not switch my phone off John, did you switch it off Lesley?"

"Errr yes, I wanted you to myself uninterrupted, I had no idea the infantry would burst in... sorry" said Lesley".

John says to Sonia "ground rules, Sonia" not realizing that Lesley was 'in the picture' now.

When they all leave the room Lesley stands up, looks at Sonia and says "hell, that was fun" then starts laughing. Sonia just stares at her.

"Come on Sonia, that was funny, being caught in the act by your family, hell that was awful. They will go downstairs and laugh about it. They won't tell anybody else will they?"

"No, they definitely won't. I find it difficult to laugh like you do, is that going to make you dislike me?"

Lesley immediately says "Of course not, you have lots of other attributes which I like. Many of them were discovered tonight. It's time to change places again now, you haven't finished with me yet and I don't care who else is in the house, you have got me hot".

Sonia interprets 'hot' as good for a human producing endorphins and enjoying each other's bodies, then she says "OK, if you are willing, it is my turn to test your responses"

"Oh really" said Lesley, as she throws herself backwards on the bed.

"God Mom, neither of them seems to give a damn".

Then Sarah hears more "Oh, not again. John, it is bad enough with you" says Sarah.

Derek & Allison laugh, then Derek says "are you sure there is not a man out there somewhere for you Sarah, I hate seeing you alone."

Allison says "time for some matchmaking for you Sarah, tomorrow we will go out and find you a man, even if it means kidnapping one".

Sarah's phone rings. "J-day 2011 Sarah, is everybody OK, what happened to Sonia, I'm worried".

"Hello Jenny, sorry I did not call you immediately, we had a situation to witness. Nothing bad, funny in fact but I 'm not sure you want to know the details from me".

"Why not, what do you mean by funny? You have to tell me".

Sarah gives the phone to Allison and says "tell Jenny what happened, I'm not going to. If you would prefer Cameron do it, please yourself".

Allison thinks it would be fun to hear Cameron's version of events and hands the phone to Cameron.

"Me?"

"Yes Cameron, call it 'learning to join in' ".

John & Derek smile on.

Cameron takes the phone and starts talking "Hello Jenny, I am puzzled why Allison wants me to explain when she was asked to do it by Sarah but because Sarah does not want to tell you I think there is something to tell you that bothers them".

"For god's sake, tell me".

"OK, we entered the premises at 2.48am and heard noises coming from upstairs, it sounded as though Sonia was suffering which led me to believe she was unable to switch off her sensational responses and pain receptors.

We all rushed upstairs and I pushed the door open. We all had our weapons ready to shoot anything that was attacking her.

When I looked at Sonia she was lying naked and I thought she was going to be skinned by an unknown naked human who was on the floor next to the bed.

When the human yelled "aaaagghh" I was ready to shoot her but Sonia ratted to me "Stop Cameron, do not kill her, she is my friend".

"Ratted?"

"Yes, as I explained, spoke to me in rat frequency which is inaudible to humans".

"Oh, yes. Then what happened?"

Mimicking all their voices exactly as she heard them, Cameron continues explaining in great detail:

Derek said "What the hell is this, I never thought I would say this again but now I really have seen it all".

Sonia said "Lesley, help me".

Allison said "Help you in what way" and then she started laughing.

At this point Jenny is laughing

Sarah said "happy new year".

(The Connor camp are laughing too, just in case anybody thinks they were not.)

John said "Take your clothes off Cameron, we seem to be witnessing and missing something special here" but when I tried John stopped me and said "I was only joking, silly joke, don't bother trying to understand it, it just popped in to my head and now it must be erased".

John then said "Shall we leave you 2 girls alone now Sonia, or would you prefer to introduce us? I still need an explanation why you refused to answer your phone but I guess you did not want to?"

Derek then held his hand out and said "I'm Derek" as he walked towards Lesley.

Lesley yelled "get away from me".

Derek said "Only joking, come on guys let's get out of here, I think we spoilt something", then he turned and walked out of the room.

Sonia said "I did not switch my phone off John, did you switch it off Lesley?"

Lesley said "Errr yes, I wanted you to myself uninterrupted, I had no idea the infantry would burst in... sorry".

John said to Sonia "ground rules, Sonia".

This is all too much for both ends of the phone line and John says during his laughter "Cameron, believe me that was the best explanation I have ever heard, I could not have done it better hahaha".

"That is OK, I like to please you John" said Cameron with a big smile on her lips whilst handing the phone back to Sarah.

Cameron was not seeing anything funny about what she said. 'I will talk to Sonia about this some other time and see if we need to ask the others to explain their behavior' thinks Cameron.

Sarah says to Derek "Derek, Jenny needs to speak to you". "Me?" "Yes, why not?"

Derek takes the phone and everybody in the room hears him speaking with a surprised look on his face and suddenly starts waving his arm in the air.

"It was a joke", "no I was not trying to get a better look", "what do you mean by that?", "no I am not, I have got a girlfriend of my own", "no I don't", "how dare you, I am not like that", "this is too much, you'd better be winding me up".

Jenny then laughs and says "happy new year Derek, are we still friends?"

"So, another joker in the camp, typical. We will get along fine Jenny. Happy new year to you too".

Derek looks at them all smiling and points his finger at Sarah.

Back at Jenny's house, everybody is still up and very anxious. All they could understand was Jenny saying those things to Derek, which sounded rather weird.

Conny & Ricci demand an explanation from her. She quite happily obliges. A good end to the evening.

Meanwhile, Lesley gets her 'cum-uppance', for lack of a better word.

"Let's go up Cam, it's late, I want to get up at a reasonable time".

"I can't John, I need to patrol outside", said Cameron who saw an immediate glum look on Allison's face.

John replies "I think it is safe out there" but Cameron replies "nobody is ever safe and there might be additional danger out there".

Cameron is careful to be discreet but speaks to Allison when she goes upstairs and says "go to John, he still loves you. It is OK, please go for me, I have to patrol tonight, it is essential".

Allison looks at Cameron and feels really awkward.

"Please, for me and John" Says Cameron, who tries to use words that say 'it is OK'.

Allison visits the bathroom and honors Cameron and her own feelings in the hope that John will be happy to see her.

When she arrives in his room, he is. Tonight it is late but John finds enough enthusiasm & stamina at his young age to attack Allison like a first encounter and she enjoys every moment.

"Is this my punishment?" she says.

"That depends, am I hurting you?"

Allison cannot believe what he does but loves every moment, feeling sure that she will feel quite sore in the morning... pleasantly so.

She sleeps well.

Sarah has a clear mind now and her ability to look at the whole picture realizes that things like Empathy, human society & culture, nature, all things considered = nothing really matters providing nobody else is involved. 'Things will work themselves out for John, of that I'm sure' she thinks, as she listens to her 'son's extra attention to Allison' wondering what it must be like.

-0-

The following morning, Cameron has done her walk around the block, fully armed and on the lookout for danger, especially now that Sonia ratted her information on their 4 attackers. It was deemed that only 2 or 3 of them would be undamaged enough to attempt revenge and she wonders if they should be terminated.

She goes back indoors and meets Sonia sitting at the computer.

Earlier on, Sonia had slipped out from under the covers at 4.23am and had a bathroom session before turning on the computer. She has already been told by Cameron that Lesley is a threat in 2009 but rebuffed her and said that she is her girlfriend and she does not want any harm to come to her, she is already falling in love with her.

Cameron detected by their conversation that Sonia is developing strong emotions, just as she did for her own John.

Cameron also discussed with Sonia the problem that she faces with the rest of the team and that her best tactic would be to try and convince Sarah & John that Lesley is worthy of their fight against Skynet.

This can only be accomplished if she can encourage Lesley to continue with her fitness and driven desire to be good at what she does and learn as much as she can just like John did from Sarah.

This is the only way.

It is already known by the cyborgs that Leslie is in the future resistance aged c.35 in 2027 but she was a radio operator and doubled up as a cook, she never met Sonia in 2008.

This is the last day that the teens have to themselves until they return to school.

Derek has got up and readied himself to return to Jesse before he is apprehended by somebody with awkward questions about girlfriend or additional dangerous missions like last night !

Sarah is up next and has got a plan in mind to get more cash. She readies herself and leaves the house before John emerges from his nightly bliss with Allison, who was all the more keen after last night's excitement.

At 9.03, Cameron tells Sonia that she will give her some privacy, as Lesley is stirring. Cameron goes in to the back garden and stands guard there.

Lesley eventually walks downstairs at 9.34 and asks Sonia why she is sitting at the computer.

"We are looking for threats that will create the future I told you about" said Sonia.

Lesley replies "I wanted to find you when I woke up, it would have been nice to wake up and find the person that drove me wild last night lying next to me, so that I could hold her, kiss her and tell her nice things".

"Oh, I did not know, sorry Lesley".

"That's OK, you asked me to teach you these things so now you know. I am up now, so I will make us a drink, what would you like?" said Lesley.

"I do not drink". "Oh, that's not something you told me about, what about food?" "No".

Lesley says "something else we can talk about the next time we are alone together, I'm sure you have got lots of secrets".

Sonia replies "Yes, but they are not secrets, just things that you have not been told or found out yet".

"Yes of course. By the way, I have to be home at 12, Dad has ordered that I be there when Gran and Granpop arrive. I can take you with me but you must pretend to be a friend and not a lover, can you do that Sonny?"

"OK, I will come with you if you want me to, that is what being friends is about... being together... right?"

"Yep, sure is", as Lesley walks over and 'kiss kiss kiss' "you must promise, not even holding hands".

Sonia will not talk to Lesley about her 'rat' with Cameron until the next time they meet because she understands that the human brain cannot always process the enormity, complexity or consequences of a conversation or experience.

A short time later, the girlfriends leave the house, holding hands down the road.

Cameron does not need telling where they are going and Lesley never told her, assuming that Sonia had but of course 'the walls have ears' and it was not necessary.

Previously Sarah has obtained the address of Dr Silberman from the address finder website which uses local voting records. She needed a little help from Sonia and she easily came up with the goods.

After a 3 and half hour drive, she arrives at his cabin up in the hills surrounded by tranquility, trees, birds etc.

She sneaks in the back with her little present that Sonia had available after her experiences as Cameron.

He is sitting at a Desk reading papers.

She waits until he stands and walks through the door, then she pounces and inserts the syringe. He passes out.

Upon rifling through all his things she is not surprised to find an assortment of drugs. He has a computer but she does not have the passwords. She gets on the cellphone to Sonia and tells her the phone number of his landline internet connection. Very soon Sonia is accomplishing what Skynet does best, enter computers like a virus. She obtains lists of drugs which are displayed on Dr Silberman's computer.

Sarah thanks Sonia and tells her that she has done a great job and she is extremely proud of her - good words from 'The Mom Sarah'.

Sonia says "I believe Dr Silberman is using initials as hints for his passwords which he has on a list. I will attempt to ascertain what they are".

The desired drug for inducing a kind of semi-hallucagenic effect is found and Sarah waits for Dr Silberman to stir. She has got plenty of doses, so she should accomplish her 'evil deed'.

She sets up his camcorder facing him. Using a cable tie, she ties him to a heavy table, out of range of anything to assist him.

He stirs, prick (out of camera sight), Sarah waits a while. This is it, the fun begins.

"Hello Dr Silberman, are you ready for me to follow your script?"

"I don't know what you mean"

"Ah yes, that is how the script starts, you pretend to not know me. OK you male bitch, we start here.

Do you remember me?"

"Sarah... are you Sarah Connor?"

"Right first time, I died but now I have resurrected and I will not leave you alone - I will haunt you for the rest of your days".

Quite groggy "no, it can't be you?"

"How is the knee Dr Silberman?"

"My god, it is you"

"Yes but now I am dead. Do you remember when I had a syringe in your neck, I wanted to squirt the whole lot in to you and only my terrific self-control saved you".

"No Sarah, how can you? You are not real, no no no."

"Believe it, I am dead". Sarah walks towards the kitchen waving her arms in the air and wailing. She takes off her thin skin colour glove.

She walks back and faces him (always out of camera shot showing her face).

She has got a knife. "nobody can kill me now, watch". She goes over to him, waves the knife in his face and cackles, slices his cheek to make it bleed, then stabs the point in to her palm". It starts to bleed.

She pulls his head back, "drink the blood of Sarah Connor, then you will have everlasting life". He struggles but she holds her hand over his mouth and shouts close to his face "DRINK, DRINK AND LIVE FOREVER, HAHA".

Eventually he cannot breathe because with the same hand she has the fingers pointing upwards and squeezes his nose between her index and middle finger. He licks her palm and she gives him air through his nose.

"Keep going, not enough, you need more".

His face goes a little red and eventually she stop and says in a loud voice "NOW YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER IN HELL" cackle cackle.

"Now, we are finished. Remember, I cannot die".

Meanwhile Sonia has transferred all of his money to their special bank account, which is like a staging post for further transfer to another account - undetectable by the time Dr Silberman has been released. The password was so unbelievably obvious, if you have a fixation about somebody close by.

Sarah gives him another dose, then puts her glove back on and carries him to the bedroom after releasing him. Lays him on the bed and ties him to the posts.

Finally it is now 4.33pm, Sarah rings the local police from his phone and says "Hi, I am not going to give my name but this nutty professor at the cabin of Dr Silberman is a drug addict. He hired me and asked me to do all kinds of kinky things. Eventually he asked me to tie him to the bed. I said 'how are you going to escape'. He said he did not want to because I was some broad named Sarah Connor and he was in love with her, whoever she might be. I think he is suffering from dementia or something. I must go now".

She takes her thin gloves off.

On the way home, Sarah phones Sonia and asks her how much. "$750,294.34" Sonia says.

"Great, that should be enough for now. Another great days work Sonia, that high interest account seems to be losing money for him, we can have a decent living now - you're a great gal".

Sarah wants to treat Sonia like a daughter, she is not entirely sure why but her clear brain seems to have an instinct awoken by her experiences in the future.

Sarah gets home at 8.35 in the evening, with 2 big bags. She stopped off on the way home and bought a special present for Sonia & Cameron, plus clothes for John.

She then phones Jenny and makes some arrangements.

-0-

A while later, the sight that greets the police, rantings of Sarah Connor, the video of an unknown voice acting out his request, even mentioning his bad knee and root liquid. This drug addict has got a problem.

Sarah thought she would add to his problems by tugging down his breeches and opening his shirt.

Although talking as though stoned out of his mind, this is the beginning of the conversation with one of the police officers:

"She drugged me". "Who did?" "Sarah Connor". "OK, we will find out who she is. Here, your arms are untied. Is she on the video Mr Silberman?" "Yes she is. She filmed the whole thing".

The video is switched on.

The cop says "that girl is acting out your fantasy by the sounds of it. I suggest we take you down the police station to liven you up. In the meantime you are under arrest for possessing illegal drugs. You have the right...

-0-

**Next time, things are OK for a while. School starts and Allison finds her niche with Sonia's help - they create a new club.**

**Cameron goes out on a job and Riley picks this moment to strike whilst the lookalikes are busy doing other things.**

**The team is being observed and things get a bit awkward for Sonia - more than once.**

**Derek calls on Jesse's reluctant help.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sonia(identical Cameron chassis, plus almost identical chip but with own personality) has got to know her new girlfriend Lesley, very well!**

**Sarah has great satisfaction in getting revenge on Dr Silberman and left him tied to his bed.**

New Year's day continued.

When Sarah gets home everybody, minus Derek is there. "Where's Derek?"

Allison quickly says "seeing that he has got a girlfriend, he must be with her".

"OK" smiles Sarah, who has a lot to say:

"I have some news for all of you.

Firstly, we are all going out next Saturday.

I have got some money for Jenny and I want her to treat the children to a nice evening out watching a show. They want to see the stage version of 'School musical'. Anybody that wants to be with them can do so. I will be joining them, Conny will have a break and join the rest of you to see a ballet of your choice.

After getting their number from Jenny, I have spoken to Garrett & Victoria who will be taking their 2 children to 'School musical' too.

John, I suggest we let Sonia & Cameron, plus Allison choose a ballet.

I have a feeling that everybody will get something from a night out for a change. We can all eat out at a restaurant afterwards, if we want to".

Silence greets Sarah.

"What's up guys?"

John pipes up and says "money is up, we are getting low".

"Not any more John, Dr Silberman donated over $750k".

"Are you serious Mom?" She smiles with an almighty grin and says "Yes John, with Sonia's PC help, I have turned him in to a convicted drug addict too. I think I have had my payback".

Allison says "who is Dr Silberman?"

Sarah continues "Remember the mental institution I told you about? He was in charge there. He knows what really happened but said nothing, even after he witnessed a LMT and t-888 attacking everybody".

"I see, yes payback Sarah" replies Allison who also smiles at that thought.

Sarah hands the clothes to Allison and John then hands the boxes to Cameron and Sonia. "Tight presents twins, I hope, but not too tight" she smiles.

A quick rat intercourse: Cam "This is a surprise, the box is 'tight', it must be clothing. I hope it is something nice". Son "I believe I might be developing enjoyment at receiving presents!"

(Unison) "Thank you Sarah". (Everybody is used to this now and they just look at each other with smiles and expectation).

Out of the boxes come long dresses. One is gold and the other identical but silver glittery - very slinky. (A good indication of this is the dress worn by Claire Danes on the red carpet at the awards ceremony shown by E! at the end of Aug2010, plus another hottie with a similar dress ** nb ** at the end of this chapter is the link to Claire's picture).

"Sonia says, that is indeed a tight present. It is really nice" & immediately Cameron says "they must have been very expensive, we love them".

John says "I hope that is not why you like it Cam!"

"There is something else in the box" says Sarah.

"Mom, they must try them on".

"Not in front of your eyes John, you will have to wait".

Sonia is the first to lift out a short jacket to accompany the dress, which will wrap around the shoulders and button up across the chest with 2 gold colour buttons. Sarah smiles and says "I had some help from the assistant at a fab shop and described you both, so she had a good idea that these would suit you".

Allison is looking on and thinking 'the metal' is getting some great treatment 'surely Sarah has bought me something too?'

Sarah then speaks to Allison and says "I did not know what colour to choose for you, you don't want to look the same as Cameron, so I would like to ask the twins to take you out and buy something similar. I will tell you how much I spent when John is not listening because men always have a fit. I will come with you because I need something too".

Sarah is really enjoying this moment and getting a lot of pleasure.

John has a final remark, which he thinks might be humorous "None of you girls must turn up at the event with scars or gashes over your faces, although I must admit you did look pretty hot with that big gash on your face Cam!"

His remark is greeted with straight faces.

"OK, I will arrange for you to have one John" said Sarah. Allison laughs at that.

"Did my scar really look 'hot' John?" said Cameron.

"No exactly but it certainly never spoilt your looks Cameron. You was trying to kill me at the time, so I never really appreciated you".

John looks inside his bag and finds a pretty modern jacket with matching trousers to accompany Cameron when they go out to the theatre - a tie too, silver/gold with blue speckles.

"That's pretty good Mom, you are choosing some great stuff for us, will it fit?"

"It should do, I used the same measurements from your other clothes but they will change the size - keep the receipt".

Just for now, Allison's present is some underwear, what Sarah considers suitable, plus a sports bra.

"They will change it if it does not meet with your satisfaction Allison" said Sarah.

John thinks 'shouldn't that be my satisfaction'?

Sonia agrees to go out later tonight and patrol the area. Cameron wants John tonight, no matter what - 'all night'.

Friday 2nd January 2009

Upon arriving at school, there is quite a reception, again. This time Sonia gets smiles and is asked by a friendly afro-caribbean girl (who watched the news about her lookalike) "what was it like to be kidnapped Sonia?" It seems she wants to be friends with Sonia. The girl bears some resemblance to the character name Mercedes from Glee.

John says very quietly, knowing Sonia will hear:

"Sonia, she wants to be friends, smile at her and say 'the leader was extremely handsome and brave, he took me in to the bathroom and tended to my injury himself.

He rubbed some ointment in to my fingers (at this point, Sonia is actually reciting the words, whilst listening to John at the same time) and after he finished he told me that I was very brave. Then he kissed my fingers and said 'there, now it will get better much faster' ".

Then he whispers "Sonia, make a sighing sound and look up to the sky then say, 'I think I am in love with him'."

"Wow that was awesome says Leyla" the girl that Sonia replied to.

Everybody in the growing crowd smiles at Sonia and claps and woops.

Close by, Allison was listening too and smiled just as John turned his head to her and smiled at her, thinking of her burnt hand. Cameron has observed and processes that conversation many times, considering the ins and outs of John's feelings for Allison.

Leila walks next to Sonia and Cameron talking about her little joke and they start chatting. Allison is next to John.

As they enter the doors, John sees that there is a new guard with a metal detector. "Oh no, here we go again" he thinks.

The twins have got their letters handy, which Sarah had written just for this event. They show them to the guard, who looks at them and starts by waving the detector-rod over Cameron's head. Then he moves it down her body.

It continues to make the clicky-bleep noise.

"What is this then, metal in your body too?"

To John's surprise, Cameron starts crying, quite loud so that the people nearby can hear.

In her crying sobbing voice she says, as she holds Sonia's hand "I don't want to take my clothes off. At my last school the man took me next door and made me strip down to my underwear, boo hoo, just so he could see me like that - he was not bothered that I had just recently had the accident and my scars were red, snivvel".

Cameron looks behind her at some girls and says loudly

"He was smiling and told me that I had nice little scars. (tears) Please don't make me do that too. I will let you see my bra but nothing else" as she turns her head back to the guard.

Cameron starts to raise her top but already Allison is close by and grabs her hand.

"No please Cameron, don't you dare. He wouldn't do that, he is not like the other man. I will go home and get your x-rays".

Allison looks at the man and says "please, don't make her do it".

Cameron starts wailing and holding on to Sonia's shoulder, who reciprocates by holding her hand and then Sonia says

"It's OK Cameron, we won't let you go through that again. That man got the sack and the police came round".

"OK, OK, I understand, go through. If you want to bring in x-rays do so but don't worry too much about it, I'm not going to be nasty to you" said the guard, who is extremely nervous and sees all the shocked looks on the faces of the students. In fact, he is more than nervous, just as some "oohs" are made from some of the girls.

John looks on and is pretty impressed by that performance.

Smirking as he walks down the corridor with Cameron, he says to her "how did you manage to put on such a magnificent performance Cam?"

"I learnt from your advice to Sonia just now, think up a good story."

Cameron actually did what she did not want to do, she used her Allison memories to feign distress. This made her feel bad but she knew that certain situations call for unsavory measures.

"It is things like that that make me love you even more Cam" he says as a pair of lips approach her cheek.

While this was going on Lesley & Lionel have rushed through the school gates and arrive at the back of the queue and wonder what the 'oohs' and 'did you hear what she said' etc are about.

Lionel asks a guy what is going on and another guy tells him, in Lesley's presence too, that Cameron has got a plate in her head and pins in her body from the car accident. "It's terrible because Sonia has got a plate too, I remember someone told me that".

Lesley looks on in bewilderment and it gets her brain rushing pretty fast. 'Surely not, no way, it can't be, are they all robots? I have got to ask Sonia, imagine that, a whole family, this is incredible'.

"Are you coming" shouts Lionel.

Inside, the students consult the rotas and obtain their weekly programs from the admissions office:

SONIA CHEMISTRY / CAMERON, LESLEY MATHS / ALLISON NETBALL / JOHN THEATRE

These are the thoughts, respectively of the Connor clan:

The twins In rat mode "We need a plan, John is vulnerable".

'I'm with Cameron, I wonder if I should ask her if she is a robot? If she is, I wonder... no don't go there'.

'Netball, could be worse' thinks Allison.

'Ooh' thinks John, 'not my thing'.

Before classes begin, Cameron tells John of her fear.

"This is school, everybody is checked for weapons, I don't think there is much danger Cam. You was able to smuggle 2 phones down your panties, I can always text you if I suspect something. That is the best we can do, I must continue with my studies, we can't have an uneducated future leader can we Cam?"

"OK but be careful John, I am here to protect you and now I love you too" Cameron's face 'actually' looks worried.

"Don't worry, I will. I don't want to get hurt or die and leave you all alone. That is love Cameron".

The next lesson is also OK, everybody is still separated but during the afternoon things will change.

During lunch break, Sonia sits with Allison and asks her if she could come with her to the gym coach and ask her if they could start a self-defence class for girls.

Sonia also says to Allison "You are experienced in survival and I want to enroll Lesley in the class too. I will join the class and perhaps John and Cameron will join too. You can explain that girls are vulnerable and need to protect themselves. We could try out some moves on John after asking him to attack us".

"Great idea" says Allison, "just what we need. I have got lots of energy that needs using up".

Lesley spots them in the dining area and goes and sits with them.

"Hello hottie, I wondered where you was" says Ally smiling.

Lesley replies "Err. hello Allison" then looks away from her as she can feel her face going red.

Allison says to Lesley "It's OK, anything goes with me, I have seen guys 'at it' and even some children where I come from - it happens. Sorry, I don't mean children doing that, but they do form close relationships when they are together sometimes - especially when segregated".

Lesley is happy with that and slides closer to Sonia and puts her arm around her. Some students make a habit of checking Lesley when she enters the room, just to see what her latest conquest is. Not everybody checks her out for inquisitive reasons either.

"What did you mean by that? Where did you come from?" says Lesley to Allison.

Sonia jumps in and says to Allison "she knows, it was an accident with 4 hostile men", then says to Lesley "Allison is from the place that I came from".

Then Sonia says to Allison "future Lesley is 2027 resistance but is not combat trained, I want to help keep her alive longer".

"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you again Lesley, it will be a privilege to know you".

Lesley is a little confused but believes Allison might be a robot from the future and leaves it at that. In fact, she is a little un-nerved. Again her mind races and she thinks about what that many 'robots' could be capable of. She asks Sonia a question

"Sonia, am I safe with you and your family?"

Sonia replies "no-one is ever safe".

Lesley gives a crooked grin and just assumes that she could walk under a bus by accident tomorrow.

Sonia knows Cameron has heard her conversation and rats to her "you are closest to John, I hope he will understand."

"Don't worry, he will when I speak to him about it. I will wait for him to be in a receptive mood" is ratted back.

Afternoon, walking down the corridor. "I see you have got yourself another one of them. Where do they all come from Lesley. You have stolen this one from guys like me, I have something you will never have" said one of the 2 guys.

"Yes indeed you have, and an even bigger one attached to the little fella" replies Lesley, who then smiles at Sonia. Sonia smiles back and says "bye Austin".

Finally Lesley says to Austin "ask Jimmy if he is embarrassed to be with little and large".

Off they go to science together. "Will you be able to help me" is heard from Lesley as the door closes.

At the end of the first school day, Allison is not present at the school gates.

Rather worriedly John says to Cameron "where's Allison?"

Cameron replies "she was asked to go to the principal's office to speak to one of the teachers about her english. I heard him say that she is very far behind and needs to do plenty of homework on his set tasks. He told her off for not spelling her name properly. He said that her registration document and her mother's signed form spells it 'Allison' but she wrote ' n' ".

"Oh, not too serious then, we will have to wait for her".

When Allison arrives with her bag slightly more weighed down with books, she apologises for the delay but says "I had to see the English form tutor but after that I spoke to Miss Torresani the gym coach and asked her if we could start up a self defence class for girls. She asked me who would teach you and I said that my uncle would, he was an army instructor and I will persuade him."

"You're joking, if you think you can persuade him then I will promote you to platoon leader Allison" said John smiling.

"You are on. I will win this bet John".

Later, after Sonia has made her departure from Lesley, which takes a while, they all get on board John's jeep and go home.

Cameron knows Allison will need someone to sit with her whilst she recites words and composes sentences.

"Allison, I will help you with your homework, you have got a lot to learn" says Cameron.

Allison is quite surprised that Cameron is so quick in offering to help because she sometimes feels a little awkward around her.

"You have homework tonight, I will cook something for everybody" says Sonia.

These 2 sentences are spoken at the same time "you will", "really, that would be nice" from John & Allison respectively.

Surprise, surprise. When they get home, there is a smell of cooking, Sarah is hungry as hell and has already cooked for the others too.

John is alone in his room, reading and writing, using his laptop.

Later, in Allison's room, she is reading and learning. An hour later Cameron goes up, leaving Sonia on the computer. She enters the room and asks if she is ready to let her listen to her answers.

"Yes, thank you Cameron. I wish I was you, remembering all these words is hard for me".

"I understand".

After 10 minutes Allison just has to speak to Cameron. She cannot concentrate until she has got it out of her system.

"Cameron". "Yes".

"Why is it OK?"

Cameron takes a while in cyborg terms to sum up what Allison has said.

"I have told you before, I don't mind. I am not jealous of you, not even today when John asked Sonia to tell Leila how he treated the burns on your hand. I processed that conversation but I do not feel that he loves me or needs me any less".

Allison continues "Cameron, have you ever thought about how much cleverer than me you are, you can do many things that I cannot.

Do you actually feel embarrassment?

Can you possibly imagine how I feel when you play on my willpower and give me encouragement to visit John's room, knowing that I want to be with him. I have fallen for him the same way you have but unlike you I have to suffer the embarrassment of knowing you can hear my every last sound, murmur, sqeak.

Not just you, Sonia too and now Sarah". Allison continues blurting out her feelings

"Hell Cameron, I don't know what to do.

Do you know what I should do?

You said you did this for John's wellbeing, do you still feel the same way?"

Cameron replies "yes, but if you don't like me or the situation, then I have made a mistake. Perhaps I should ask you the same question: do you know what I should do?"

At that, Allison shuts up and looks at Cameron for a while. Eventually she says, "share him?"

"Yes".

Allison continues "Sarah is downstairs, I wonder if she understands the situation or she thinks we are a pair of whores in reverse?"

Suddenly there is footsteps on the stairs. Knock Knock, the door opens, in comes Sarah.

"You probably know why I am here. Ally, don't you ever think that. He wants the best for both of you, loves you both, can't be without either of you, and most of all he would die if you died. Not literally of course, you know what I mean.

If you need to be alone with him Allison, you should tell him, I'm sure he must feel the same about both of you.

This confined situation that Skynet has forced us in to is insurmountable. In fact it is unacceptable. Have a life the pair of you.

Allison, if you can live with Cameron that is good. If you can't, then I'm sorry. Perhaps time will find you a happy resolution?"

Allison says to Sarah "thanks for the talk, I will speak to John tomorrow"

Then she says to Cameron "Cameron, I do like you, you know that. I do not have an issue with you, I just do not understand why you think the way you do. Let us agree to remain friends and make the best of this situation without trying to change things. After all, it can be said you saved my life... admittedly killed me first but that was not your fault and I do forgive you if that helps?" as she smiles.

Sarah says "OK girls, any problems come to me first, don't let things stew up inside you. That includes you Cameron, I know there are things you don't understand".

Sarah leaves the room and thinks to herself 'Sarah Connor resume' : awesome Mom' then smiles.

Allison speaks "Cameron, I really enjoyed our time together and our joke on John new year's eve. Also, if I had to rescue you, I would do it again and I hope you would do the same for me"

"Of course I would" replies Cameron.

"Anyway, you can have him for a week every month" says Allison smiling.

Cameron processes this and believes it to mean women's menstrual cycles and replies "I do not believe John would want to turn you away for any reason".

"Oh! Thanks. I will concentrate better now. If you want to go, I will try to learn the rest of this homework on my own and call you if I need help with it".

Cameron wants John to herself tonight and will stay with him all night, despite the chat, she knows Allison has had her fun and will mention 'her turn to be punished' if he is up to it.

For Contessa & Jennifer, the first day of school, January 2nd 2009 was always going to be difficult.

The women take them to school in Jenny's car and wait for them to go in before going in themselves to speak to the principal.

"Good morning ladies, I am Mr Van Huy, the principal, is there a problem?" he says.

Contessa leaves it to Jenny to speak.

"We have brought 2 new students to school today and we want to let you know that they have been cut off from the real world for a very long time. They are nice children and got on very well with my Niece's children when they met for the first time just recently.

The thing that worries me is that they are not used to lots of children around and interaction might be a problem. Could you please ask their form tutors to keep an eye on them. As I say, I have always found them to be nice children but this large environment might over-awe them".

"Thank you for seeing me Mrs Beal and Mrs Alvarez. I will tell the teachers involved. How long have your children known each other?"

"All of their life".

"Ah, that is good, they can look after each other and help each other. Give me their names and I will do as you ask"

Jenny gives Deans's name and Conny gives Marta's name.

"Is there anything else?" "No, Thank you Mr Van Huy, we will leave you to do your work".

Conny smiles, says "Mucho Gracias & thank you", then they both walk out.

Late in the afternoon, both Jenny and Conny return to the school after walking around the town to see if there is any employment for Conny. They only considered this as they discussed whether Conny3 should stay at home and devote time to her fitness and training Ricci to get fit and show him what she learnt in the future regarding staying alive.

They see the 2 kids looking happy and talking to some other children.

Conny says "phew, everything seems fine". "Yes, it is a relief".

When the children reach the car, they open the door and climb in and say their hellos and talk about what they did without being asked. They have both got books in their bag, which held a banana and apple previously.

Both women think that their worries were unfounded.

"So, do you like school?" said Conny.

Marta says "Yes but I need more money".

"Money!" the 2 women say.

"Yes, they have machines where I can buy packets of snacks of all flavours. Tins of drink, it is fizzy".

Dean then says "the canteen is great, all kinds of food. I loved the french fries and meaty things".

So far so good.

"What was your lessons about Dean?" says Jenny.

"The teacher said we need to learn a lot about writing and learning words. He asked me where I was educated, I told him that it was under the Kings Cross tunnels".

"Really?" "Yes, then he asked me what was under the Kings Cross tunnels and I told him sewer pipes. I never told him about the future though".

"Oh, what did he say to that?"

"He said he liked my story but I should tell the truth, so I just did this:"

Conny's head swung round fast, then Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, so you only shrugged your shoulders then?" said Conny. "Yes, I did not tell him it was in the future".

"OK, well done" said Conny.

Both woman feel relief.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, this is said by Marta:

"Jonathan asked me what else was in the tunnel and I told him we wasn't really in the tunnels".

(Jenny and Conny start to feel better) but

"Because if we was in the tunnels we would be hiding from something above us."

"Anything else" said Conny.

"No".

'phew'.

"Please be careful, don't mention tunnels, rats, blood, dead bodies, terminators, things above ground, anything" said Jenny.

The kids reply "OK Jenny" (unison).

Saturday 7.05

Sarah is up first, which is hardly surprising and goes downstairs to see what is in the fridge or cupboards. Fortunately there is a nice ginger cake and she starts with some of that whilst she opens a packet of sausages to go with fresh tomatoes and toast, plus some pancakes.

She goes over to Sonia and says "Hi, I knew you was there but I was famished. How is the world this morning?"

"It is difficult to say, it appears OK but we know that is not the case. I am concerned about a company named Kaliba, who changed their location after we destroyed the 888 named Marti. Their name appeared on a coltan shipment 3 years ago but nothing since, which is suspicious and suggests they are using alias names to do their transactions".

"Ah, that is definitely of interest, I believe we will need to talk to the others about this after school this evening. Not before please Sonia, I know John and he will not want to go to school with this on his mind. You must promise to keep this information from him until then".

Sarah has moved over to the cooker and has snipped the sausage skins to separate them after breaking their frozen pieces apart.

"Yes Sarah, I will. I have something I would like to tell you. Lesley is a valued member of the resistance in 2027. I would like to keep her safe and include her in training for the resistance and get to know us. I have not told John, I believe Cameron will tell him soon. Lesley found out what I was. I am sorry but it was an accident".

"Accident?" said Sarah.

"Yes, in the future there was a big problem for the resistance with groups of people who did not value human life and do many terrible things, as you would see it if you was there.

The same thing happened to us on new year's eve. I took Lesley out to a club, during my courtship ritual. (Sarah's eyyebrows rise) On the way out, we was followed by 4 men, who were affected by alcohol.

I had to use severe tactics to disable them because they wanted to force Lesley and myself to submit to their sexual desires.

I had already warned them to go away but they became violent and one of them tried to attack Lesley so I had to stop them".

"Really!" says Sarah.

Sonia talks again "One of them used his knife to pierce the flesh on my chest and I had to disable all of them".

"I bet you did, did you kill any of them?"

"No, they all survived but one of them is in hospital".

Sarah looks hard at Sonia and says "you did good, did Lesley see everything?"

"Yes but at that time she just thought I was good at fighting. After I took us home, she saw my cut blouse and blood and asked to tend to my wound".

Fortunately for Sarah, she was able to talk from the distance of the kitchen to hear Sonia.

"So, you could have hid the truth then?"

"Yes but I know John loves Cameron and I want Lesley to feel the same way about me".

"Are you saying you are jealous of Cameron?" said Sarah.

Sonia replies "I believe this is an emotion that has entered my panning but I did not plan it that way".

The 2 of them can hear Allison's door open.

Sarah finishes by saying "don't worry Sonia, you are becoming just like any other woman. Do you trust Lesley to keep her mouth shut?"

"If you mean not tell anybody, yes I trust her, just like I did as Cameron in the future".

"Good".

John wakes up.

Surprised to see Cameron beside him and feeling warm, suggests that she has been there a long time. He smiles at her and says "Good morning my darling Cameron, how is the girl that I could not possible fail to love?"

Cameron likes those words and smiles wide, then replies "You couldn't. When I first saw you I put a spell on you".

"You are the perfect spell Cameron, it was great having you next to me all night, when I stirred in the night you was there staring at me and smiling. I hope you was not bored being with me all night?"

"No, I felt good" she said.

"That's nice, very nice" as he smiles.

"I was able to talk to Sonia this morning when she came back indoors. John, there is something I would like to talk to you about".

"Oh yes, go on then, I'm listening".

"Sonia has fallen for Lesley. We happen to know that she was in your camp in 2027, she was a radio operator on some of your missions but is not combat trained. In the camp she would help with preparing the food and cooking it".

"That is very good to know, I always like to hear things like that. She is valuable. I believe you are leading up to something, come on, out with it Cameron".

Cameron looks more serious and tucks her coltan chin downwards so that she is showing more of the lower whites of her lovely eyes, then continues talking. (a ploy).

"Sonia wants to ask Lesley to do some self defence training at school with us, then get Derek to show her how to use weapons. Lesley found out by accident that Sonia is like me. She is trustworthy and will not tell anybody".

"Oh, that's OK then" says John still smiling.

"Aren't you going to get annoyed or advise against it?"

"No, if she was in one of my teams, then that must be worth something. How much does she know?"

"Everything about the outline details of 2027, Skynet. I don't think she knows anything about me though".

"Uh huh, I will have to talk to her. Has Sarah said anything?"

"No, she has only just found out". (this means, downstairs just now).

"There is a nice smell starting to waft upstairs, let me know when it is OK to get up Cam".

Cameron says "First of all, I want you to give me the full works, it should only take 30 minutes if you follow my instructions".

"Really!"

Cameron puts her hand behind John's neck and moves him under the covers, down and down and down. The instructions begin. Simultaneously, Cameron listens to Sonia's description of her own experience with Lesley in the hope that she gets the same ... she does.

Finally, she pulls John up the bed, she turns over face down and leaves the rest up to him.

Later, as John opens his bedroom door, Allison times it to open hers and meets him face to face. (she knew because the floor creaked). She smiles at him, a quick peck on the cheek and says "meet you downstairs, lover boy" trying her best to mimic Baby's voice (Jennifer Grey) in the dance training session from Dirty Dancing when she is on all 4s moving across the dance floor in front of Johnny.

Puzzlement is all that goes through John's mind, he does not mind though.

"Thanks Mom, great breakfast".

"Yes Ms Connor, orange juice, coffee and service. Just like a restaurant. We are very lucky" said Allison.

The twins can't say much about the breakfast but agree that Sonia should speak: "Thank you for helping us, Cameron & I both like living here with you".

"Oh, that's nice, very nice". Sarah never fails to be surprised by the twins, then says "now go all of you and don't forget, I don't want any phone calls with bad news".

"Who from Mom?" "School" "Saturday today"

"Oh, yes of course, only 2 days at school this week. Now that you know about Lesley are you going to visit Lesley at home John?" said Sarah.

John speaks to Sonia "Would you like to take me to see Lesley, I would like to have a chat with her - nothing deep or daunting you understand".

"OK John, shall we walk there?"

"If you like, can you stay here and watch the others Cameron?"

Funnily enough, now Cameron feels a little concerned that John is with Sonia but after weighing up her feelings, realises her petty jealousy and concern for him are unfounded.

"Yes John, I will look after Sarah and Allison". Then she smiles at him, a forced smile.

John looks at her and smiles back but wonders what is going through that cyborg's head with that strained smile on its face. 'She has a tell' he thinks.

As he walks down the road with Sonia, he wants to keep the dialogue going and asks her if she has any of Cameron's memories of Lesley's friends in the future.

Sonia feels a little jealous because what she recalls shows an older Lesley enjoying the company of other women. She does not see much intimacy but there is obvious female rapport, suggesting they are hiding their feelings from the men. Sonia knows it is not necessary to feel like this because it has not happened yet and might not ever happen if she stays loyal to Lesley.

"She does have lots of friends, Cameron was not with her on missions and she stayed well out of the way of danger and kept in contact with everybody. When she was in the camp, quite a lot of her time was spent in food preparation - I was not with her at that time but I did see her there a few times. I remember passing her in corridors with friends and most of the time they were female. I saw her going in to her own sleeping area with women on 27 occasions."

Out of interest, John asks Sonia if this information was known to her before he asked the question.

"No John, I had to access my storage area on my chip to find references to Lesley Serrano Point".

"Oh, I'm sorry, you should tell me if there is something that you do not want to tell me, we humans understand this from our own experiences".

"Thank you for explaining" "You're welcome" replies John.

Then he says "When I get to Lesley's house, is there anything you would like me to say?"

"Like what?" "Well, this for instance: 'Nice to meet you again, it is a pleasure to know you. I have a proposition for you' ".

"Yes, 'Nice to meet you again' ".

"OK Sonia, I will wait for you to speak first, she is your girlfriend".

When they arrive and Sonia knocks, the door opens and a large elder man comes to the door.

He looks at Sonia and says "Are you Sonia?" "Yes".

"She does not need to see you, please go". Then he closes the door.

Sonia walks up another step and John quickly says "do not do anything rash Sonia, this type of thing is quite normal. You are not the first person to have to deal with this, let us walk away and down the road then discuss what you should do. You must not cause more upset or hurt. Lesley wants you and she is probably very distressed and will be all the more happier when she is with you again. Believe me, everything will be OK, walk away and you will see".

Amazingly, a little tear develops on Sonia's left eye, John sees it. He puts his arm over her shoulder and guides her down the steps to the footpath.

"Don't look back Sonia, just raise your right hand and if she is looking she will understand that your thoughts are with her".

John does the same with his left hand.

Upstairs in the front left bedroom, the curtain returns to its hanging position.

Down the road John says "she has not phoned you which means her father has probably confiscated her cellphone but do not worry, it is your Lesley that survives in to the future - she will be brave, one of the heroes - be proud and happy Sonia".

She looks at John, a little lip quiver. During this time Sonia checks her emotional panning to make sure it is working OK as this reaction is quite extreme.

John is quite touched by this, especially as this awesome creature from 2024, like Cameron, is so diverse in her complexity.

John continues "Sonia, your abilities are phenomenal and I do not know what you are capable of but if you feel that you can come back home with me and wait until Lesley contacts you, that would be good. I know that if I was you, I would find it very hard to endure a time without Cameron & Allison, not knowing when I would see Cameron again".

Sonia walks down the road with John. Just then, 'Little&Large' is coming down the road. He sees Sonia. As he approaches he says "I see Lesley has seen the light Sonia, have you ditched that bitch, just like her father told her to?"

John is fast, he fears almost immediately that Sonia will flare up. As Quickly as he can he grabs her arms. She raises them and John flies backwards. He is able to shout 'AARRRR' just before he lands on the flat of his back and holds his head off the pavement (having trained with Sarah helped him to land without hurting himself). Sonia only took 3 steps towards Austin, stops in her tracks and turns. She has hurt the very man she was sent to protect.

In her own way she is mortified. Austin walks off. His laughing is of no consequence as John tries to stand.

"John, I'm sorry, please let me run a diagnostic on you".

John looks up, he can see her hurt face and says "I'm OK, I did what I had to do, I saved your skin, now you can help me home".

Sonia says "I will phone Cameron".

John says in a strained and hurt, winded voice "No, whatever you do don't do that and whatever you do, do not tell her you hurt me, that would be catastrophic. I do not fancy seeing a girl fight, or cybo-girl fight. Normally guys would love that but I most certainly would not. Come on, help me up and we'll go home.

I want to talk to you in private some time without prying ears, to make sure I have your assurance that nothing like this will ever happen again".

When they get home, the last thing anybody expected to see was John trying to look cool, calm and collected but visibly shaken or hurt. Coupled with the look on Sonia's face, red, teary and eyes looking down, it does not take any kind of genius-opposite to see something is wrong.

Shock and horror immediately emanate from 3 females. It is too difficult to describe the words of 3 voices all speaking at once, even if Sonia and John do not say a word.

To make it worse they are moving forward, there are accusing looks at Sonia, concerned looks at Sonia, has she just saved John's life, is John alright, is there danger coming, what what what.

Allison quickly phones Derek to warn him to be ready for her contact "something has happened, Sorry Saturday, er 2 or 3 January, Derek please hold the line".

Derek sits up with a start, Jesse looks over at him... Derek just listens and waits.

Sarah grabs John demanding anything she can get out of him.

Cameron is ratting but not getting anything back, Sonia is too ashamed.

All Allison can do for the best is try and use her skills to keep the line of communication and observation open - very professional of her. She stands close with the phone close enough for Derek to hear everything.

Derek waves Jesse down in a way that she can understand he must listen.

John thinks fast "There was a small problem, nothing serious, no danger just something that could quite easily happen in the future".

John is still racking his brain for something to say when Sonia starts to speak "Cameron I have to tell..."

"Shut up Sonia, that is an order, I will speak, you will keep quiet until I have finished - no ratting, that is also an order".

John continues "We was returning from Lesley's house when a guy from school attacked Sonia because he thinks she should be going with people like him and not Lesley. Imagine that. He went for her. I tried to stop him but he knocked me backwards. Sonia helped me home".

Cameron jumps up.

John speaks quickly "Cameron if you are going to do what I think you are going to do, don't, I order you. I have asked Sonia to beg you not to do anything because it will make things worse. She has agreed that there is a much better strategy and we do not want to spoil it. Anyway, there is something more serious for Sonia to worry about and she would like to talk to you about it". John knows this should take their minds off of the Sonia hurting John problem.

It is at this moment that Derek & Jesse hear some wailing sobs.

"Is that metal crying?" says Jesse. "Hell, I was hoping you would never find out about all this" replied Derek.

Allison says to Derek "my credit is getting low, I think I had better go now".

"Shame, I wanted to hear the rest, promise to tell me won't you Ally. You know you had me really worried for a moment". "You was worried Derek, you should have been here, we was peeing ourselves".

Cameron tries to console her friend and Allison comes over too.

Only Sarah is left to hear John's story of her distress and his advice to her.

It is a while before Cameron and Allison hear the Lesley story from Sonia. All John & Sarah can do is make themselves a coffee and sit on the settee and watch them with 'seen it all before' playing itself out in cyborg fashion before their eyes. They know they should not be amused but at the same time they are actually witnessing history playing itself out 'before their very eyes', albeit never recorded.

2 hours later, Sonia has received nothing but sympathy and attention from Cameron and Allison who make suggestions and try to console her but nothing really works.

Sonia says she will take John's advice and see what happens.

Later, Allison goes upstairs alone to look at her school books and decides that now might be a good time to phone Derek. She has actually got lots of credit but did not want to waste any more time when there was 'girl matters' to tend to.

"3rd January 2010. Derek, I would like to ask you to help the cause of the resistance. I want to be fully trained up and fit and Lesley would be a suitable candidate as she does gymnastics. This could include weapons use. Do you have the time?"

"Well Allison, that is a big ask, where did you plan in doing this?"

"School gym for self defence" said Allison.

"Aw come on girl, I can't go showing myself like that".

"Not even if I tell you the full story about why Sonia is upset?"

"Not even then".

Allison won't be beaten, she says "Derek, Lesley's father doesn't like her relationship with his Sonia. Lesley was in the resistance of 2027, you might remember her at the back of reconnaisance groups with the radio. What's more, she would have been involved in cooking your meals. Cameron told me all this just now".

"Tell you what, seeing that she needs our help, perhaps you can arrange some kind of honey trap and blackmail her father? I'll leave it up to you".

Allison says "We need somebody older, we have never met your girlfriend, is she up for a challenge?"

"How do you know she is older?"

"Because you gave that impression in the bedroom with the naked romp". Jesse's ears prick up.

Derek then says smiling "I doubt it but I will speak to her. Talk to you later, seeing that your credit ran out and you are on borrowed time".

"Thanks, bye".

After Derek speaks to her and calms her down, Jesse knows that she cannot possibly meet the Connors and especially not Cameron. She does need to get Cameron away from John though and thinks about this proposition.

A couple of hours later, it suddenly comes to her. "What the hell" says Derek, I thought you was a little distant, as he sat up in bed.

"I have it Derek, I will help Sonia but we need Cameron's help. Get the address of Sonia's girlfriend's house and I will do the business, if it works. Ask Allison to tell Cameron that they both need to go to Sonia's house at 7.30pm tomorrow night, Monday and ask to speak to his wife - make sure they find her full name and then pass the details to me first".

Sunday 4th January 2009.

Most of the shops are open and it appears quite early to John that clothes shopping is on the agenda. He does not mind because he knows he will be invited along to see his brood of lovelies trying on some fantastic evening gowns, so he thought.

Oh yes, it is imperative he goes along, he needs protecting, the twins and lookalike have already told him this but he has to wait close by each time a 'checking out' of the styles takes place, under the watchful eye of one of the twins, or even Sarah, who never removes her smirk.

John took his laptop with him and is watching some saved Marti 888 clips, to see if he missed anything, making sure shoppers do not get a glance.

It is amazing how quickly 6 hours goes when there is hours upon hours of video to go through. He did see some faces that he asked Cameron to memorise, just in case.

She says "Sonia has seen all these faces but now we have seen them too".

At least the 6 hours was broken up with a burger and drink break. John thinks he ought to get some exercise later and asks Allison to go with him. "You are welcome to come mom but I'm not sure if you need exercise?"

"Oh yes, I need exercise, I always feel fit but I satisfy myself that I can do these things and it makes me feel good. I'm thinking of taking up some darts practice, there are 2 major tournaments in LA & Las Vegas in August and the payout is very good. The man to beat is Phil Taylor, who finds it hard to miss a treble 20 or 19 and he has had many 9 darters".

"Really" said John, thinking 'what?' and 'is this my Mom or somebody else?' ".

"Yes" said Sarah, "but I need to register for a local 'open' darts competition before I am eligible to go that far but at least it will save us having to do something slightly more criminal & I can win money on the way".

"What about being recognized?" said John.

"I have thought of that, I will dye my hair and apply different make-up. These things are photographed, but let us be honest, I am dead".

"I'm not happy with this mom".

"OK John, I will bear it in mind".

The next morning, Monday 5th January 2009.

Allison is awake slightly early, worrying a little about her schoolwork and opens some pages on her set spellings, plus the meaning of words like noun, pronoun etc.

She thinks everything will be OK and just so long as nothing 'really serious' crops up, she will try not to worry.

Cameron can hear Allison from John's bed but thinks that she will be OK for now.

During the day, Sonia has seen Lesley and they have avoided Austin until such a time that they can get appropriate revenge.

That evening at 6.55 Riley sees the lookalikes leave the house on foot. It is only a 30 minute walk.

She waits a few minutes and then knocks at the door of the Connor residence.

A momentary period of silence then Sonia answers the door. "Is John there?" asks Riley.

John comes to the door and says "hello, how are things?"

Riley says "Aren't you going to invite me in, we have hardly spoken since I first saw you sitting alone".

"Yes of course but I do have things to do".

"That's all right, I have homework here and thought you could help me rather than have to sit in my noisy foster parent's house with 2 brats".

"OK, fair enough, come in". (smile).

Riley walks past Sonia who does not seem very friendly. Then all of a sudden, she sees Sarah looking at her too, in a manner that suggests she should not be there.

Riley just smiles and follows John upstairs with her books, saying "I hate all this schoolwork, it is so difficult". (we have to bear in mind that Riley will face the same educational problems as Allison, having been a 'tunnel rat' all of her life since 2011).

Upstairs Riley stops reading and says to John "I hate my life. My foster home is a madhouse. They do not stop the children squabbling and they say nothing but stupid things about stupid things. It drives me mad, I am unhappy there. You have got all this, you are so lucky". Riley tries to feign sadness and force a tear.

Of course, unbeknown to Riley, the walls still have two sets of ears.

"John you won't turn me away and not be my friend will you?"

John looks at her and only sees what she wants him to see. "Look Riley, you have friends here, we won't ignore you or tell you to go away. I like you, you are quirky".

She smiles at him and says "thank you", then puts her head down and continues reading, occasionally asking him if he knows what things mean.

She remarks that her room in the foster house is OK apart from the noise. He is welcome to visit her there some time.

At 7.28 the lookalikes arrive and knock at the door of Lesley's house.

Mrs Dempsey comes to the door. Allison says "hello Mrs Dempsey, I know Sonia is not allowed out but I wondered if you knew what Mr Dempsey is doing now?"

"Yes, he is talking to Lesley's counsellor about her school 'antics' as she put it".

Cameron speaks "Oh, I thought they looked very friendly, I was surprised when I saw you".

Allison quickly speaks, whilst Mrs Dempsey's thought processes ponder that last statement "Can we speak to Lesley about our assignment in the school play?"

"Are either of you named Sonia?" "No, she lives with John. Our friends call us the twins when we are together".

"OK, come in".

Upstairs, they tell Lesley about the plan.

Meanwhile at the park, where Jesse arranged to meet Lesley's father formally, she has identified herself as the counsellor, after dolling herself up to look nice. Derek is sitting close by with a camera.

Jesse is good with people, as with crew members. Firm but friendly. The man she is speaking to is quite a tyrant and she plays on his pride.

"Mr Dempsey, what I wish to speak about is not very serious but I believe there is a boy who has a grievance against your daughter because she is different. His name is Austin. I have been informed by a member of Lesley's class that the boy Austin has been giving her a rough time and even accosted one of her friends in the street, causing injury which needed treatment, witnessed by another student".

"Oh, I did not know this" says Mr Dempsey.

Jesse continues "I believe we share a common goal and I wish to overlook all of this. It appears to me that we could actually be friends, were it not for my position at the school". (under the table, Jesse has allowed the buttons on the side of her skirt to come undone, revealing to Derek her entire leg and a glimpse of her knickers, which he thought was nice. She unbuttons the top of her blouse revealing a little cleavage and leans forward to talk. From Derek's angle it looks as though they are kissing. click click click many times).

Suddenly she raises her left hand and says "hold on, there is something on your collar". She puts her hand in a position that looks as though she is holding the back of his neck passionately. click click click.

Jesse sees Derek raise his hand and she sits back and does her buttons up, top and bottom.

She says to Mr Dempsey "let us hope that there are not any more complaints from either parties. Thank you for your time".

They part company and head off home, after Derek picks her up.

When Allison and Cameron arrive home, Riley stays put and protests when John tries to leave the room. She says in a loud voice "I thought you was going to stay with me?"

"I will, I just need to do something" he says.

Cameron has heard this and asks Sonia what is going on. Sonia explains that he knows Riley and she had come round for help with her homework because it is quieter here.

Does Cameron also possess jealousy? She certainly moved fairly fast before meeting John on the stairs and gives him a pretty glare. "Hi Cam, we have a visitor". John thinks she will be thinking the worse and that makes him look and feel pretty guilty.

"Did Lesley's mum take the suggestion, Cameron?" he says.

Cameron thinks "So, I am Cameron now". She puts her hand on the back of his neck and says "haven't you forgotten to give me a kiss for being such a clever girl?" she says coyly, with Allison looking on and smiling.

"Yes of course" he gives her a nice smacker. Of course she is testing his chemicals etc.

Allison walks closer, just to see what might happen.

John pulls her close and kisses her too "the same goes for you. Sonia should have the girl of her dreams back soon girls".

Finally Cameron says "yes, her mother listened to what we said and the seed was planted. I believe that is the correct phrase".

Allison says "yes, I have heard of that phrase" then smiles.

Later that night, Derek phones Allison and tells her that the photos turned out greater than expected.

"That's good, Sonia will be pleased, shall I come and get them?" "No" says Derek, "I will bring them round in the morning, after I have had a good night's sleep".

Jesse is adamant that she does not want the photos getting in to the wrong hands and insists on taking them herself to Mr Dempsey for him to see. She makes sure the pictures on the card in Derek's camera are in her possession and deleted on their computer.

The following morning, early Tuesday, after waiting a while, Jesse goes up to the Dempsey's front door and asks to speak to Mr Dempsey. His wife comes to the door "Hello, I am His wife, can I help you?" "G'day, I am Ms Connaught, Lesley's school counsellor, I wanted to speak to your husband". Mrs Dempsey looks puzzled. Jesse then says "Oh, didn't he tell you. We met outside home to avoid being seen by Lesley. We have discussed the name calling and bigot attitude at school but now everything is under control. Your husband insists that he will try to look after Lesley most of the time.

Mrs Dempsey invites Jesse in and calls her husband.

Mr Dempsey and Jesse go in to an empty room and she shows him the photos and lays down the new ground rules.

"What the hell" says Mr Dempsey. "shhh, keep your voice down" says Jesse and continues talking.

"Mr Dempsey, as you can see, we are having a serious affair. You are a bigot and treat your daughter like a dog. As from now, you will change your ways. Your daughter Lesley and your wife have free reign of the house and you will become the little dog. If you upset your daughter and my younger sister comes home distressed again after receiving bad treatment at school, your wife will have the seeds of doubt germinating from every ear. Is that clear enough?"

Of course Mr Dempsey objects and squirms but as soon as Jesse lies on the bed and makes moaning noises, he concurs before she raises her voice to arouse suspicion.

She opens the door and says in a good audible voice "the boy will never bother your daughter at school again. I am glad the matter has been resolved".

Just then, Lesley comes downstairs, she timed it well. "Hello Lesley, would you come in here and see your father, I have some good news, please come with me"

When Lesley sees her father, he looks as though he could throw up all over her.

"Your father has agreed to allow you to continue your steamy romance with your hot girlfriend Sonia. He has seen the error of his ways and wants yourself and your mother to take charge in this house. He knows he is doing the right thing, don't you Mr Dempsey".

Lesley's sits there open mouthed as they walk out.

It will be only a week later that Lesley's father moves out temporarily after the little seed did grow.

Before that he received a few phone calls from Sonia asking him if he is behaving himself, also saying "the school counsellor misses you".

Lesley gets on much better with her mother and they will plan to invite the Connor clan round one day soon.

Jesse has planted her own seed in Cameron and will do her work on Riley, unfailingly.

Meanwhile, same day Tuesday 6th January 2009

Cameron was out most of the night and returns before day break as usual, to avoid detection by Kacy.

John spends time alone overnight.

The usual morning rituals have taken place.

When they arrive at school, Riley comes up to John smiling and walks with them, much to the consternation of Cameron & Allison.

Not long after that Lesley arrives and walks up quietly behind Sonia, then holds her hand and says "hi babe". Smiles from the pair.

Outside the school campus stands a lone man observing events.

The 2 cyborgs have ever roving eyes and he does not go un-noticed. The twins know that you don't just terminate somebody because they are there, even if they are the media or press. They memorize his features just before he walks off.

In classes, there is an announcement over the tannoy "This is Miss Perkins, we are continuing with our stage performances this year and are looking for people interested in singing, dancing and performing for our term end show. Anybody who wants to come along, should go to the assembly room after school. We will be there until six. Thank you".

Almost immediately Allison shows an interest. John is not interested but he is not prepared for the amount of goading and coercing he will receive - more than any male of his age can take.

After school, the enthusiastic females listen to Allison. Lesley is interested too and when Riley hears this she knows she might have an opportunity to play at being Jesse's unwitting porn.

They all go off to the assembly room, John being tugged by both hands and Riley following behind asking the girls what talents they think they have to offer.

When they get there, Riley says she does not think she has any of the required skills. Lesley says "stick with me and we can have a go at dancing".

Miss Perkins has another male teacher with her and the girls that want to try out dancing will be with Mr Hodges.

He does some simple moves without music and asks 22 of the students to copy him.

John stands as far away as possible, hoping the whole experience will go away.

Riley starts, just like the others and very soon Mr Hodges asks her why she is dancing with her hands under her breasts.

Cameron pipes up immediately, she will love what she is about to say. "Mr Hodges, Riley does not have the necessary support for her big babies, they are trying to escape from her dress before any more damage is done" as a big smile beams right across her face. (another clip from another show that she memorized for just a moment like this).

"Oh" says Mr Hodges as Riley decides it is best that she leaves the room quickly. Riley had a thought as she approached the door to walk past John and puts it in to action.

"Oh John, I feel awful". Then she sits on a chair next to him and cries saying "people always make fun of me - it's not my fault they grew that big".

John replies, wishing not to be heard discussing her delightful assets, in his opinion "I'm not keen on this kind of thing, let's wait in the corridor for them".

Cameron comes over and tries to apologize but John chastisingly tells her to get back to what she is doing. Her plan backfired and she is feeling jealousy all over again - an experience she never knew an AI could possibly possess. She rats her feelings to Sonia who concurs that she experienced the same when John asked her about Lesley in the future, who it turned out liked the company of many females. Cameron digs out her identical memories and processes them, then agrees with Sonia.

The 3 Connor camp girls do lots of dance moves & although Cameron does them as good as Sonia, is constantly staring at John talking to Riley, who in turn is smiling a lot, too much in fact. Allison is pretty good at following the routine and John has to concentrate pretty hard trying to remember who is who, considering they changed in to similar coloured gym gear. Music is playing now.

Mr Hodges comes over to John and asks him what his input was going to be and John has to admit that he does not have talent like that but was coerced in to coming along.

"John, I think you should go home as we don't need spectators. What about you Riley? I am sorry for your misfortune but if you can't sing you will need to go too".

They leave the room. Cameron attempts to leave the room but is held back by Allison who says "I am sure they won't go far, he is driving so he will wait. He will be in the campus grounds and you still have your mobile phone".

Cameron is not satisfied and runs to the door and shouts to John "Please stay in the corridor John, otherwise I cannot continue my training".

"Oh, OK Cam, I promise".

Riley stays with him and chats, looking very happy.

**Next time, things are OK for a while. Back at school Allison finds her niche with Sonia's help - they create the new club.**

**Cameron insists that John take her out somewhere nice.**

**Also at school, the team are being observed and things get a bit awkward for Sonia - more than once.**

**For those unfamiliar with why Allison wrot N, watch 'Allison From Palmdale' when Camison wrote her name on the registration form for the youth centre before getting a bed for the night. (Shared unfortunately with Jodie, the streetwise kid who lived off of others, any way she could). Still, that being said, she did get the Cameron-terminator treatment... well nearly LOL).**

**JFYI, I thought up the little & large joke as I was writing this. I wonder if it is new?**

****nb the dress ** when she turned round and wiggled it, an ass to die for - it even created a 'girl crush' from another actress, Sarah Hylands !**

**: / / uk . eonline uberblog / celebs / c109637_claire_ **


	12. Chapter 12

**In the last episode, Sonia(identical physical cyborg to Cameron) was prohibited from seeing her human lover, Lesley. Amazingly, Jesse helps to resolve the problem and bring the starstruck lovers back together but she had her own agenda in mind. Also, Lesley is in the future resistance and they will enrol her in to the fold now that she has found out what Sonia is.**

**Sarah has got her revenge on Dr Silberman for not helping her, in no uncertain terms.. total revenge.**

**Cameron is jealous now that Riley is getting chatty with John.**

**Derek is constantly seeing things from the cyborgs that he never imagined in his wildest dreams, quite shocking.**

**So much for Jenny & Conny sending the children to school.**

**For the twins, getting past the metal detector has always been a problem, not any more though.**

**Sonia is still the centre of attention at school and enchants one of the girls with her semi-make-believe story.**

**Anybody that has not seen the dress that Claire Danes wore on the red carpet featured by E! online, end August 2010, should have a look at the picture to see how the twins will look when they go to the ballet (at end my last chapter).**

**What Jesse did not realize was that Sonia has Cameron's memories.**

-0-

Monday 5th Jan 2009 evening.

Upon arriving home from school, John's jeep pulls up and they all get out with happy chat from the girls. Kacy saw them arrive at the usual time and woddles out to see how they are getting on (bored, waiting to drop her lump).

They tell her that they had a go at learning to dance and their friend Riley had to stop because of her large mammarys. "Oh, like mine" says Kacy smiling. "Yes" they all say at once as John makes a hasty retreat.

"Oh, hello John, don't you like talking about them, I thought that is all men think about" laughs Kacy.

Again there is a unison sound from all 3 girls (Cameron ratted/asked Sonia to Join in), they say "he does" then an almighty sound of laughter as John goes inside.

"Bi Kacy, we have homework again". Allison adds "if you need anything in an emergency, we will send John out to take you to hospital" she says with a smile. Kacy liked that and goes in - their arrival home from school is always a pleasant time of day for her.

Upon entering the premises, John finds the alarm needs deactivating. He goes over to the kitchen table and sure enough Sarah's SUV is not parked there - he never thought to check because of all the distracting chat in the jeep and Kacy's vehicle was in Sarah's spot as it made it easier for her to unload her shopping.

'I believe I might have to start coming down hard on these girls if I can't even think to check something simple like that' he thinks.

John phones his Mom "January 5th 2009, Mom I hope you are not getting yourself in to trouble?"

"No John, I am playing darts. I need to win a local bar competition in order to become eligible to enter the big money game in August. I have found the ideal place, you might like it here. I am getting chatted up too. If you want to come down later, I will let you know where I am".

"Normally that would be a good idea but it is school week and we all have set tasks again tonight. Stay safe and don't get laid".

"Oh John, you care. See you later".

"Bi Mom".

'Did I really say that' thinks John, 'still, what secrets are left. We are adults and I will be the future leader of mankind, surely that makes me eligible to treat mom as an equal?' he smiles.

John feels that any man would have to be pretty special to successfully chat up his Mom. He knows Charlie was a very nice chap and working as an ambulance medic would appeal to Sarah.

Everybody except John is in bed when Sarah arrives indoors - she saw Sonia on the way up the drive and waved to her.

Indoors, Cameron is on the computer and she can hear the laundry room machine whirr. There is not anything out of place anywhere in the house, very tidy indeed.

Sarah gets herself something out of the fridge, some bread, marg then makes a sandwich and a glass of water.

She goes over to Cameron and asks her how things are.

"I check Kaliba every night but nothing new has shown up yet. Lesley is in Sonia's bed, she came here at 8.34. Allison is asleep alone and Sonia is outside patrolling now that Lesley is asleep. I was outside patrolling and waited for her to phone me on my vibrating phone to say she would change places with me. Before that she was kissing Lesley and ended up with just a big hug and eventually Lesley fell asleep".

"I didn't need to know all of that Cameron. How did you know anyway?"

"Sonia described everything to me when I met her outside, we spoke very fast and it took less than 1 second".

"That's a new one; you never told me you could do that. What else can you do?"

"I can tell from your demeanor that you did not enjoy your time tonight and you are wondering if wasting your time at dart venues is a good idea."

"Yes, you are right Cameron. There is too much time wasting, drinking, talking about darts etc. I will try other methods to make money. Perhaps you can help me Cameron, you have plenty of skills to help me".

John was nearby making a sandwich and says "If the prize money is good, perhaps Cameron and Sonia can come with me & you to the venue and try to win 1st, 2nd & 3rd prizes, what is that worth to us?

"*****" says Sarah "but the twins might not be able to play darts?"

"I believe we can" said Cameron.

Sarah immediately said "Ah that is OK but you need to look human when you throw, I will show you and Sonia how to do it. You can also watch some pros on the internet too. You would need a good disguise, especially Sonia. Then there is your age, you will need to be ******".

John also says "Mom, you should approach big company CEOs and offer them something special; even they cannot refuse pretty women. All you need is a product or something else to entice them".

John finds Cameron, who is outside with her 'terminator rifle' checking the back garden for noises.

"Hello Cam, can we talk in private?"

Cameron looks a little surprised by John's demeanor and it shows on her face. "Yes John, shall we walk?"

At the end of the gravel driveway, facing the fantastic view of a lit up area of California, John asks Cameron the question.

"Cameron, is Sofia's ability to reason and control her emotions without causing injury to others in question?"

"I believe she is working fine John, why do you ask?"

"Because she nearly hurt somebody but I stopped her. Furthermore, I believed she was here to protect me but during this time I temporarily became her 2nd priority. She realized her mistake very quickly but it was a worrying moment.

Cameron, do you think it would happen again. You are as emotional as Sonia at times and it worries me".

"John, I am confident that Sonia will diagnose her problem and prevent it happening again. I detect that you are keeping something from me".

John replies "the guy named Austin laughed at her and revealed that it was him that prevented her from seeing Lesley. She was about to go in to a rage, she seemed... 'so human'."

Cameron replies "no John, you should not, I understand now and she will learn by her mistake. I still detect that this is not a reason for you to worry, I believe there is something more serious that bothers you".

"I did not tell you the full story just now, you must promise not to do anything to Sonia. I tried to prevent her going in to a rage and threw my arms around her. She apparently concentrated on attacking Austin and disregarded that I was trying to stop her. It only lasted a few seconds and then she realized her mistake but by then she accidentally knocked me down".

"It is another area of our senses John. Sonia asked me about rage and we decided that it must be prevented from developing in our neural senses as it serves no purpose and is dangerous. She told me that you was very nice to her and told her to go home and try to resolve the problem when she had calmed down. You could say she was extremely 'in love without reason' but now she has resorted to corrective thinking".

John replies "Are you sure Cam?" "Yes John, I remember being distraught when Cromartie almost killed you in Red Valley New Mexico the first time I found you. My mission had only just begun; I nearly let future John down. I thought I was going to be too late and he would shoot you but I drove in to him just in time. That was my chip with blocks in place. I could not show any emotions but I was very anxious, perhaps Skynet intended me to behave that way, instill urgency in to my mission when necessary".

"Cameron, that is quite romantic, You really did love me for a long time." He holds her arms and kisses her on the lips. She is still holding the rifle and dare not put it down.

-0-

Tuesday 6th January 2009

**Another day at school for Dean & Marta**.

At 11.35am Jenny receives a phone call from school. She has been asked to come and see the counselor straight away about both children.

Jenny always feared this moment. She calls for Conni and they get in the car almost immediately.

When they arrive, the 2 children are sat in a room looking sullen. They look up but do not smile. They have been told that they must stay put.

The 2 women go in to the office and sit with the councilor and Mr Van Huy.

What is explained to them but what actually happens is as follows:

45 minutes earlier, all the children are in the baseball field. Their Gym coach is a 5' 3" slim man, has reluctantly allowed Marta to play after she objected to being away from Dean The teachers have been informed that Dean/Marta do not like to be apart, they have only been at school for their 3rd day. It is felt that once they make friends, they will not be so insecure.

Marta is asked to stand in the field 'right field' and try to catch the ball and throw it to a person on a stump.

Dean is on 2nd base.

Amazingly the batter hits the ball high and running fast, Marta, catches it on a single bounce. She throws it as hard as possible at the 3rd base boy to prevent the batter from running past. The ball hits the boy on the arm and he gets annoyed at her after screaming with pain. He runs towards her to complain and Dean interprets it as an attack because he is shouting at her.

Dean nearly reaches the boy but the coach runs forward and grabs him and shouts at him to stop.

"Get off me, I'm protecting Marta" shouts Dean. At this Marta will not see her best friend grabbed and runs over and springs on the coach's back with her hands tight around his neck shouting "GET OFF HIM" - she is throttling him.

The coach swings round to get her off and she falls backwards with an almighty "uurrgh".

"HOW DARE YOU" shouts Dean and makes a run for him and kicks him in the leg, further up and finally in the stomach bringing him down. For his size, this is amazing.

Marta gets up, runs towards him and jumps high in the air landing on his shoulder blades screaming "die you piece of shit" which causes him to go "aaaahhhh". She stays straddled over him and is bashing his back with her knuckles as Dean continues kicking his legs and side causing him to reel in pain.

The other children are speechless at their ferocity and refusal to stop.

One of the children has reached the nearby classroom and is screaming "HELP", which is quickly acted upon. The teacher/tutor looks out the window to see the event then runs out the class and shouts in to another room "COME QUICK, WE NEED HELP".

Two teachers run out and grab Dean & Marta, carry them inside shouting, struggling & kicking them when they can.

:

"So you are saying that the boy should have caught the ball but was too slow?"

"No Mrs Alvarez, I am saying that your children should not attack our teacher".

"But that boy was going to hurt Marta".

"No he was not; he was going to tell her off"

"How do you know, she is a girl"

"It does not matter; Dean attacked the coach after he tried to stop the rumpus".

"That is not how I see it, the tutor went for Dean instead of that other boy, Why was that?"

"I can't argue any further with you, they relentlessly attacked the teacher and that is unacceptable. They are expelled from this school and we are recommending anger management".

Jenny stands up and says. "Come on Conny, we will arrange home tutoring from now on, if that is OK by you Mr Van Huy?"

"OK but I will recommend that you are visited by the CPS to ensure they are getting adequate education from you both. Your children have a severe problem".

"If you but knew, you would be proud of them" said Conny looking really annoyed.

"Come on Conny, let's get the kids and go, they will be fine at home with us until they are older".

Off they march to the other room, open the door and the 2 children follow them out the school.

They get in the car, then Jenny says "So, you little badasses, you are staying at home with me to protect me from danger".

They smile.

-0-

The teen girls choose Ballet Flamenco, Los Angeles - Sarah likes the idea too.

Sarah phones Jenny, who in turn phones her 'mom' & 'Dad'.

About half an hour later, Sarah receives a phone call and is surprised to hear that little Jennifer wants to see the ballet. B-Jenny tells Sarah that Richard's father will go alone with him to see 'School musical' as he will probably prefer it to ballet anyway. At a later date, Victoria will ask Jenny to babysit and she will go to the same ballet again but this time with her husband Garrett to Santa Barbara).

Saturday, the day the Connor crew meets up with Jenny and her 'mom'!

When it is time to leave on their hour & half journey, the girls come down the stairs. As you can imagine, any guy would just stand and stare. John does not know which one is Cameron but he does not care.

Allison smiles but the twins do not. They do not understand why John has his mouth open and does not look pleased.

Allison has got a similar long dress with small tunic in her hand. It is light blue and sparkly. She has got light blue high heel shoes, whereas Cameron wears silver and Sonia wears gold with matching shoes.

John then says "of all the things that I have ever beheld, this must surely be the best ever" – Now he knows which one is Cameron, she gave it away by not smiling... of course.

Sarah comes down the stairs and John is open mouth again. Cameron says to Sarah "John thinks you look fantastic because he has his mouth open". Sarah also has a long dress. It is very light mauve with sparkles. Admittedly the dresses are similar but it does not matter to anybody.

Sarah smiles "is that true John?"

"It sure is Mom, I don't ever remember you looking that hot, I could quite easily take you to the ballet myself as my partner. In fact I am, aren't I, the only lucky guy here."

They leave the house, with John holding his mother's arm. The conversation before that moment went like this:

John says "Cam, would you mind if I escorted my mother to her car?"

reply "Why? I don't understand John"

John "Mom has looked after me all of my life, now I am going to treat her right by showing my appreciation and escorting her to the car"

Cameron "thank you for explaining".

Everybody including Sonia smiles (she now understands that this is funny to humans because of its repetitive nature and they can predict what she will say - a little ratting takes place).

Kacy sees them all and goes to the door quickly. "I wish I was coming with you, I want to look that great in a dress one day soon. Enjoy yourselves".

"We will", "bye Kacy", "I can't wait" are an assortment of words spoken in reply.

Allison says "try not to have a baby while we are away, we want to be here when it happens, don't we John!"

Kacy smiles.

When they arrive at Jenny's house, Conny is dolled up and looking great with small gold tassels and braiding on her long light olive green dress. In her hair is a small mauve flower and she wears reddish lipstick but not too glaring.

Jenny has a knee-length grey/green dress with Victoria's locket proudly hanging around her neck. Ricci looks very Mexican in his attire, thin patterned stitching down the outside of his legs & tassel neck tie.

The children look similar to RiccI & Conni, which was planned.

Sarah gives Jenny $100k which she gratefully accepts after hearing of its source.

Jenny says "You must feel a certain amount of satisfaction Sarah?" "Best ever" replies Sarah.

Jenny then goes in to the basement and places most of the fortune in her safe and comes back upstairs.

Everybody seems to be over the moon about everybody's attire and Sarah is the first to ask about Jenny's locket, as everybody listens on, feeling a little touched by it.

When they arrive at the venue, Sonia & Cameron are on extra alert but the reception they receive when they approach the theatre entrance is totally unexpected.

It seems that something special is going to happen.

They all get out of their vehicles and the guys responsible for parking ask for their keys. Sarah quickly says to Cameron/Sonia that she will handle the car parking and will deliberately leave her phone in the car in case they need to find it quick. She tells Jenny to park herself nearby then asks the parking attendant to lead her to the car park so that she knows where to go - Jenny follows.

Cameras start flashing, the crowd are loud and cheering. Nobody knows why but it turns out that a Kardashian is coming with her friend and their production team have forewarned the media because Khloe's new friend is currently stationed in Los Angeles and she came to be with him.

'That's all we need' thinks John, when all of a sudden camera's flash at Cameron who it has to be admitted looks fantastic and very 'film starry'. Coupled with that is the fact that Sonia looks like Sofia who immediately gets even more attention. She waves at the camera pretending to be Sofia Vassilieva.

Allison is behind Cameron but the flashing attention brings sparkle in to her life, quite a shock actually. She is 'clicked' just as much as Cameron and smiles at everybody.

b-Jenny & Victoria, behind them with 3 children are amazed, in fact Dean & Marta seem more shocked than anything but soon grin with bemused excitement after chatting excitedly with l-Jenny & Richard.

All of this was not supposed to happen & John knows he has a big problem. He hopes Sonia will be mistaken for Sofia long enough to avoid any problems but their cover might be broken and they need a plan of action fairly soon.

When they enter the foyer, Sonia & Cameron agree to be the last to enter the theatre and take their seats. Everybody has a brief search before they go right in, which assures everybody that at least the inside should be fairly safe.

All sat down, John leans to his right and asks Jenny to ask Sonia where Cameron is. "She is at the back waiting for the show to start and checking people as they come in" replies Sonia as she continues to scan left and right.

On John's left, Allison is kept busy talking to Vicci and the children and being 'genned up' on what to expect.

Suddenly some music starts and within a minute Cameron moves across and sits next to John - he holds her hand.

Cameron/Sonia agree to occasionally check their sides of the room, turning their heads to check the doors. It does not affect their ability to record the whole show.

During the interval, normal things like keeping everybody close, entering the ladies/men's room to check them out, is a much accepted ritual for the Connors.

Snacks etc are bought and they return to their seats with Sonia staying at the back.

Upon returning to her seat next to Victoria, Vicci asks Sonia if she had a friend she could have bought with her. Sonia tells her that she has got a girlfriend named Lesley.

"Oh, that's a shame, you must tell her about it" said Vicci.

Sonia replies "I will copy some of their dances and show her what we saw".

When the show ends, everybody is asked by John to wait until most people have left the theatre whilst Cameron & Sonia scan the entire area.

Then Cameron says to John "please wait here, I need to check an occurrence by the entrance".

Everybody stays put, Victoria is alarmed and is told by Allison that this is normal and does her best to keep the children occupied.

Eventually John's phone rings "10 January, John I have a man working alone, I have apprehended him, everything is safe, you can leave the theatre".

Sonia heard everything as John replies to Cameron "That's good Cam, I am proud of you. We are on our way".

Sonia has already stood up (on high alert), therefore everybody knows they can leave. Victoria is worried by the way the Connors conducts their days out but tries to remain calm for the children's benefit.

Outside the entrance, Cameron is with a man who looks nervous. John thinks 'Cam has obviously found an effective way to put the 'frighteners' on him' ' and smiles to himself but soon returns to a stern look until Dean speaks to him about the part that he would play in the ballet, which makes John smile again. He replies "do you think you could hold your girl like that?"

All the cameras start flashing again and Sarah suddenly realizes that something needs to be said to some news people with microphones. She goes over and tells them that Sonia is going home now.

Sarah & Jenny make their way hurriedly to the car park which is not far away. Very soon they draw up outside the theatre and Cameron bundles the guy in to Jenny's car which shocks her. Sarah asks the children & Victoria to Join Sonia, Conny & Ricci in her SUV.

It was done this way so that John can join Cameron with Jenny with their hostage.

Off they drive as some verbal interrogation takes place.

"John, this is the man who I saw outside the school".

"I see" then he speaks to the guy, "tell me why you are following us and how you knew we would be here. Your answer depends on whether we let you live".

That did it, he starts speaking. Jenny begins to feel a little nostalgic.

"I'm only acting under instructions. I have been paid to watch you. My boss told me where to go and to be here when the show finishes." "yes, and?"

"I am supposed to follow you home, to see where you live, that is all".

Cameron asks a question "you stood outside our school, why didn't you follow us home then?"

"I was not instructed to follow you. I don't know why, I assume my boss did not know enough".

John speaks to Cameron, as they continue their journey "did he have any wires attached or recording equipment Cam?" "no". "good. We are not going to let you go, you do realize that don't you?"

He starts quaking "please, please I only did as I was told, she did not tell me it would be like this".

"So, it is a 'she' ", said John, "and where is this 'she' and where does she live?"

Silence.

Cameron says "I can make him talk". The man's head turns quickly to face her and he says "whwhwh what do you want to know?"

Jenny smirks as she drives.

"I want you to take us to where she lives, or is that too dangerous for you?" said John

"I don't know, I will have to phone her, she is adamant and precise in her desires, she will not like this at all".

Cameron says "John, I detect that she instills a fearsome aura over him, she may be someone to be wary of".

"I see, so how wary of her are you, wary enough to want to die? Tell me your name then phone her and tell her that we are after her".

"OK, my name is Walsh, she does not go home very often, I will have to ask her if she will see you".

John says "She will see us, but not now, we have family to see to. Do you know where our friends and family live?"

"No".

Cameron grabs his neck and squeezes slightly. John says "she can do this for a very long time. It will be the most unpleasant experience you could possibly imagine. If we find that you are lying we will kill you. We won't be releasing you but if we did, we would hunt you down, no matter where you go. We have the resources, we would never give up. Do you know where myself and our family live?"

"No, no, I promise".

"He might be telling the truth John, shall I kill him now?"

John speaks to Walsh "If we let you go, will you phone her?" (John is lying).

"Yes". He dials and Catherine Weaver answers almost immediately.

Cameron grabs his phone and emulates his voice.

"They are there and getting ready to leave the theatre, do you have any other instructions?"

The voice on the phone says "follow them home".

Cameron says in her own voice "he can't we have apprehended him. We want to know why you are following us."

The response is "that is unfortunate, then I suggest you kill him". She cuts off the call.

(Catherine Weaver believes that asking to speak to Walsh could be Cameron again, which is why she cuts off the call.)

John says "OK Cameron, let's see how long it takes to find out where she works or lives. We can wait for as long as it takes, have you ever squeezed for a long time?" "No John, they usually start choking and their eyes begin to bulge and their blood pressure rises causing their bladder to go weak first, followed by their..." "OK, Cam, you have described his death very well. Pity we will have to clear up the mess".

It is not long before the address of the 'Zeira Corp' building is disclosed.

Cameron says "we will need to verify what he is saying, he must stay with us until we meet this woman".

"Sure Cam, in the meantime let us go to the restaurant with Jenny, they will be waiting for us. We can tie this guy up and gag him in such a way that he will not move much, then he stays in the trunk for a while, if that is OK by you Jenny."

"I see no reason why not, people like him do nothing for me, he should be in the trunk".

They park Jenny's car in the noisy high street as near to the restaurant as possible and ensure that enough money is in the parking meter.

Inside the restaurant, 'The Star Cuisine', Jenny, John & Cameron find everybody sitting at a large table.

Unknown to John, Cameron has chosen this time to be a little romantic and she hopes the current events will not change things too much.

Many of the guests look over at Cameron, just the way they did with the others, as the neatly dressed male receptionist shows them to their table. They all like what they see, again.

They are met by a grand affair, nice candles, flowers, napkins folded in to origami boats, each one with floral patterns on it. Victoria & Jenny have planned this event very well. Jenny makes her mind up to give a large sum of money to Victoria before she leaves.

A choice of small starters begins the meal but before they eat Allison feels compelled to pass on her memories to everybody, especially now that Dean & Marta are here. This will indeed be quite an awakening for Garrett, Victoria and l-Jenny/Richard.

Allison is not shy, she stands up. "Everybody here, I want to pass on my memories of my group from 2024, all those who died and all of those who endured all the many things that we are now free from. Little Dean & Marta here shared my existence in the tunnels. They were attacked just like us". She looks over at Jenny "Jenny is from that time and knew it when she was very young, just like I did, except that she was a prisoner of Skynet and saw the most horrific of tortures and suffering, children too. Sarah had a glimpse of this, so now she knows. Let us remember these people, even if it has not happened yet, in reality it did happen, we know that".

Allison sits down. Silence. For some reason quite a few neighboring tables stopped their conversations to listen. They witness the sad faces and wonder if this is lines from a new movie or something.

John quickly stands up and says quietly "of course, the right thing to do at a time like this, thank you Allison", then raises his glass. The kids stand up too with their own glasses full of liquid.

After the first course and some interesting conversation, much of it directed at Sonia & Cameron, which certainly helps their integration.

Cameron goes over to the head waiter and speaks to him.

She returns to her table and speaks to John

"Everybody, I need to speak to John whilst you stay quiet.

In the future I once discovered a damaged computer in a house, its HDD was undamaged. (some people understand that term but others don't, they keep quiet anyway).

Cameron continues "when I got back to base in 2027, I used elder John's laptop whilst he slept to see what information was on the disc. It belonged to somebody who liked watching videos on youtube. I found something which I believe can tell you how I feel John, far better than I could myself".

This poem was written by a young girl aged 11 in 2010, nearly two years in our future. She lived in Wales. I believe that you sometimes think that I am a little girl when I speak, especially when I do not understand things that you say. You sometimes laugh at me but I do not mind because I think you are all fond of Sonia and me and would never be nasty.

When I first met you John, I was confined to my old programming which had blocks on my emotional programs. Despite this I still had feelings for you which were constantly being placed in memory.

Here are the words that I want to portray to you, which I shall read to you:

Cameron takes some pieces of paper out of her bag, unfolds them and hands them around, children too.

Then she begins, looking at John all of the time:

This song is called 'Swept away'

We met one day

and lets just say

I was swept away

with the way you made me feel.

your love for me seemed so strong

as for you and I go on.

Is it true that I got it so wrong?

You made me love, you made me smile

I thought our childhood would go for miles

I didn't think you'd go without a choice

our tie would be for such a short time.

(louder) Please get me a harp, find me again

Just give it a go, you'll never know.

(quieter again) You made me love, you made me smile

I thought our childhood would go for miles

I didn't know you'd go without a choice

our time would be for such a short while".

Cameron then says "that is the end of the poem and it means that although I thought we would be close, at first you was ashamed to show your feelings for me. Of course all that has changed now".

John opens his mouth to speak "Cam..."

"I haven't finished John, I want to tell you something else. I have coloured some words in red

The word 'our childhood', is how young we still are inside.

The words 'I didn't think you'd go', means go emotionally.

The words 'you made me smile', means I smiled inside.

When I say 'find me again', means show me what I have seen before.

Cameron continues talking "The poem was sung by the same girl who made up the words. I recorded the sound from the harp that she played, in my memory and went to a local music store and played it on their harp and recorded it on this recorder".

She shows everybody the device.

Cameron raises her hand and the background music stops.

"Now I will sing the song to you, I hope it expresses my feelings for you John".

Cameron switches on the device, quite loud, stands up and then sings with a very young voice, quite loud, she is not ashamed.

People at tables all around fall silent. Not once do they say a word, they are captivated. **nb highly recommended that readers hear this awesomly captivating song as what I describe is a true recording.

As she sings, he glances over to Sonia and wonders what her phenomenal chip that knows 'no bounds' is thinking. He quickly looks back at Cameron.

Cameron finishes and sits. Her eyes look down, a second passes then all around the room people clap and whoop.

John puts his hand over his mouth as everybody on his table look at him, he is hiding some hurt emotion.

They wait for John to speak, even people on other tables listen - he smiles, slightly nods his head to the side "that is the nicest thing you could have possibly done Cam, I will remember it all my life." He leans over to kiss her and allows her to put her hand on his neck which he will know satisfies her all the more as she analyses his responses.

John then says "Cameron, you are a miracle. I know you will disagree but I mean it in a fanciful sense. You went forward in time, took mom with you with the intention of saving her life. You bought Allison back, thus saving her life. You also bought back two fantastic kids, Dean & Marta so that they could have a better life with their mother Contessa. You even bought yourself back, how weird is that? So now we have Sonia too, another fanciful miracle.

I love you Cameron, always".

John then says "Ricardo, how long were they gone?"

Ricci replies "1 minute!"

There is some laughter before John continues speaking.

Knowing what time travel does to anything that is not flesh, john asks this cheeky question "What did you see when they came back? Please explain in detail."

Sarah, Jenny, Conny, Allison, even Sonia and the children are making their objections known but John is feeling as though everybody should let their hair down and what better way.

"You know what I saw".

"Yes, but Garrett & Victoria don't".

Everybody eggs him on to talk, except for the 2024 returnees and they are voicing their objections, all in all, 'a din'. Conni next to him is holding Ricci's hand under the table and squeezes.

"I saw Sarah holding on to Allison and Conni, they were screaming and shouting at Cameron. Then Sarah let go and they fell on top of Cameron and they were all naked in a heap on the floor. The children ran and hid behind Jenny here. Sonia was also naked on the floor. Can I stop talking por favor?"

Lots of laughs, "Yes, that will do, just teasing" says John quite loudly. Then he looks at Garrett/Victoria and says "I hope you understood what happened?"

"Not really" & "no" are their replies, so John says "time travel is a very complex subject to absorb. Jenny will explain it to you, she is brilliant. Your Jenny will be the same one day if you let her teach her sibling self one day". (John knows that it does not matter if people on other tables are listening, they will think John is fantasizing or something like that).

Sarah can only think and wonder about her son, who has put completely out of his mind the man in the boot of Jenny's car. She thinks that this must surely be how future John is forced to deal with things that happen - awful things, bad things, harrowing things, sad things. She is proud of him. Extremely.

Then she thinks how awesome the twins are. How 'blown-away' the people in this restaurant would be if they only knew what had just happened.

Garrett speaks to Jenny "Jenny, this sounds so incredible. You have to understand how difficult it is for us to understand, I hope you can forgive me?"

Jenny replies "I do" smiles at him then quickly speaks to her little self and Richard before she looks or does something silly as the song resonates in her soul.

Victoria quickly adds "I can't believe all this is happening, it seems so 'way out there'. One minute we are leading an ordinary life and now we are amongst the most amazing crowd of people I could ever imagine. Do I need to be pinched Jenny?"

Jenny and others nearby smile. Sonia observes and will try to make sense of the need for a smile at that remark in the company of others - 'very confusing' are her thoughts and she will bring it up later, in case she looks stupid, as she has learnt that asking for explanations about things like this can sometimes trigger laughs at her .

John says he will check the car occasionally, as 'hot chics' going through the entrance would draw more attention than him. "You included Mom" he says smiling.

The show that they saw was very good and they love talking about it, as does Richard, plus the gourmet dishes they have. The 2024 children are constantly in awe of everything, which is constantly surprising Jen's siblings. (if you can call l-Jen/b-Jen that!)

Amazingly & unexpected, there is a small area in the restaurant without chairs, which is noticed by Jenny.

"I like the tune that is playing, will you dance with me John?" she says.

He smiles at her, turns to Cameron, then back to Jenny and says "If Allison and Cameron will dance with me next".

They get up, and soon Garrett/Vicki and the 4 children follow, trying to emulate. Of course Ricci gets up with Conni.

On another table, a guy in a uniform walks over to Sarah and asks her to dance, the twins look but immediately Sarah says to them "It's OK girls, I will be fine".

Her newfound potent regenerated brain has developed a well-defined appreciation of dance and soon starts to throw in some engaging moves with the guy named Dominic. After they talk for a while he tells her he works for the Airforce Investigations Unit. She notices that he came from a table with 3 other guys who seem quite decent and not just making a bet that she would say 'no' ... apparently.

Sarah wonders if Dominic could be helpful to her cause and asks him quite a few questions, like whether he is expected to be combat trained. He tells her he is because of the nature of his job.

She says to him "I guess only somebody of your rank would be brave enough to ask me to dance".

He smiles.

After a few dances, keeping a clear mind and weighing up her cover and possible gains from this liaison, coupled with the fact that he is quite dishy, she accepts his phone number on his official ID card.

Sarah quickly reads it. It says "Flt Lt, Dominic Howard, USAF Inv. Dept."

He asks for her number but she says "I am the lady here and I am in charge, I will call you".

"Is that a promise?" he says.

"Just dance" she says, and does a swivel in his upheld hand.

After the music stops & before John has a chance to escort Jenny back to her chair, an elder gentleman from Dominic's table gets up and walks over to Jenny & smiles. "That's my son dancing over there, is that a good enough reason for you to dance with me too?"

'Wow, he likes me' as she beams back and immediately accepts.

John goes back with Allison to the dance floor, Cameron insisted. "Are you sure you are Allison, you haven't swapped dresses whilst I had my back turned?" he asks Allison jokingly. "after all, you two minx's are good at playing jokes recently!"

"No John, I promise. Look, Cameron is smiling at us" (she heard).

Allison continues, "Look, the children have changed partners". John looks down to see Dean dancing with l-Jenny and taps b-Jenny on the arm and points. She is delighted, turns to look at Victoria, her mother, who has already seen and smiles back.

Overall, the whole scenario could not be made up, as now we see Sonia dancing with Ricardo whilst Contessa looks on with her own 'tell' of a little jealousy, or pang. It seems that by now Jenny must realize her Ricci has gone forever.

Cameron has a dance to a nice romantic ballad with John and then beckons Allison over for the next tune only for John to find he is dancing with both of them to the amusement of all the seated customers. They even turn to place their backs against him whilst he puts an arm around each one and they put their heads on his shoulders beaming up to the sparkling lights on the ceiling.

Quite a while later, things begin to come to an end, Jenny has also received a card ID.

Jenny says goodbye to her semi-siblings and her parents, promising to keep in touch as always.

The twins head for the door first and check things outside. It is agreed that Sonia will go with Victoria & Garrett after getting a gun from Sarah's SUV and wrapping paper around it to keep her jacket clean, then hiding it in her jacket. (Of course the Beals did not know this).

Sonia sits in the back and constantly checks the road behind them whilst keeping the children amused.

She escorts them in to their house and checks all the rooms before the children enter.

Everything is OK.

They order a taxi for her and she says goodbye to everybody when it arrives.

Eventually Sonia arrives close to Jenny's house - of course she has checked the road behind her the entire journey, then walks the last 1/4 mile, holding her dress up to her knees and walking bare foot after removing her stockings - it is a good job Jenny lives semi isolated.

Earlier & meanwhile, John & Cameron have joined Jenny who drives home. They take Mr Walsh down to the cellar and untie him, find out what he needs, drink, food etc. and then lock him in. Before that, Sarah, Ricci, Conny, Dean & Marta arrive in her SUV. John's jeep is still parked outside.

During their drive, Sarah has suggested that Contessa stay at home and train Ricardo everything she has learnt about survival, defence, attack and arms training. Keeping fit etc.

"Jenny will always have enough funds to keep you going and if you need a break, ask her to call us. One of us will always be happy to take over baby-sitting duties, whilst you come and stay with us.

Whilst I am on this subject, try to involve the kids in your training, it is important" says Sarah.

Conny says "si but if you heard about what happened at school recently, you would be asking them to be our bodyguards, they are fearsome Sarah".

Smiles.

It is late and everybody stays overnight. Derek has been asked to stay at the Connor house, which he utilizes to include Jesse. Not such a good idea, as he has no idea about Sonia's knowledge about Jesse, albeit the 'Jimmy Carter' Jesse.

-0-

The next day, Mr Walsh is taken upstairs and Cameron Joins John and Sarah. Mr Walsh has had plenty of time to think and worry.

"Oh, can't Sarah stay with us?" asks Dean. Marta quickly joins in the pleas.

Allison is keen to go with John to Zeira Corp. and volunteers. Sarah reluctantly agrees.

On the way to Zeira Corp., John asks Mr Walsh about anything that might hinder their reception, pointing out that he will be the first person to suffer serious pain.

He says that entering through the front entrance should not be a problem but as he has failed his mission, she will have asked the security guards to be vigilant and report anything to her.

John says to him "will she come down and meet me?" "No, I do not believe she will".

"OK, we will go to her, please ask her to see us, here is your phone".

Mr walsh dials and speaks "Ms Weaver, here is Mr Walsh. John Baum and sisters want to speak to you, will you see them?" (John thinks, 'so, he knows our names').

Catherine replies "Let me speak to him, we have some interesting things to discuss".

John takes the phone "Mr Connor, we have met in the future. I would like you to join my team to fight Skynet. Are you with me?"

John is taken aback. "So you know everything?" "Yes, I know your mother and your cyborg friend, possibly 2 even, or is that three?"

"Wouldn't you like to know".

"It matters Mr Connor, developments that you have no idea about or could possibly imagine have made your task and all that fight alongside you far more complex and overwhelming than you alone could ever handle. Please meet with me and I will explain why because at the moment we are going through a quiet period in Skynet's awareness and desire to enter this time".

John thinks for a short while, not really understanding what she says. He will ask Cameron to process that last remark and play it back to him later if necessary. "Ms Weaver, what you tell me seems authentic but entering your building is too much of a risk for me. Can you provide me with any assurances?"

It does not take long for Catherine to process and comes up with "please wait in your jeep and I will send somebody out to meet you, he will tell you everything you need to know".

John suddenly looks around, as does Cameron. Allison wonders what is up and follows their actions.

John says "seeing that you know we are here and I am still alive and unopposed, I will do as you say and wait here".

Catherine does not waste time on any more pleasantries and immediately the phone connection is cut.

John asks Allison to wait outside and observe from a distance, as she is their last line of communication with the outside world if anything goes wrong. She walks a small distance down the road and stands behind a bus shelter, keeping an eye out.

John/Cameron/Walsh stay put and very soon up walks a young man.

He talks from outside the glass "Mr Walsh, Mrs Weaver would like to see you".

Just before he goes, Mr Walsh asks Cameron why she is so strong and how her eyes went red.

John had predicted such a moment like this would arise and has a story lined up:

"Mr Walsh, She has got a false arm, it was amputated 3 years ago after an accident. She realized that she could frighten people if she put red dye eye drops in her eyes that lit up when she pressed a button on a static electricity device attached to her arm. I suppose you thought she was a killer robot from the future or something stupid like that, eh?"

During this time, Cameron's face looked like that of a little girl staring up at the brother that she idolised as he imparted pearls of wisdom - quite endearing. She has to add her own embellishment, "I do weight training".

"Er no, of course not but she was so freaky, she had me fooled. Stupid ay!".

John says "OK" and Walsh gets out of the jeep and walks off pretty much relieved but his legs are shaky.

The man says "John, Cameron, would it be OK if I join you?"

As Cameron was previously sitting in the back with Walsh, this man gets in the front and speaks "I am Thomas & I am from 2040 and have been with Catherine for 1 year, 2 months, 3 days. I have some rather disturbing news for you.

First of all, nice to meet you, er future General Connor & Miss Philipps. The news that I bring with me is not good but everything is calm at the moment. Would you like to ask Allison to join us, no point in standing behind the bus stop?"

John looks at Cameron who places her hand on his neck and says "he is apparently not a threat".

John says to Cameron "Cam, please call her".

The man begins to speak and tells them that it has taken all this time to find him "up until now you have done a very good job keeping your identity secret.

I found Catherine Weaver first, after tracing her through her business, which does not only import/export but is years ahead in AI advancements.

She is developing something that will not only fight Skynet but render it permanently useless, forever. Forever meaning both forwards and backwards in time but the reality of this is very complex and could be far ahead of conventional thinking."

The rear door opens and in steps an identical Cameron.

"I have been looking forward to meeting you Allison, you were missed in 2024. Colin, Oleg and the others made it to John Connor's camp. Alas Colin died during a later incursion but not until 2030. We was told all about you and speculation was all that we had left of you to hear about. I was born in 2020 by the way, at Eagle Rock before it was bombed with micro-organisms which killed everybody. So myself and mother were lucky that day. Eventually we met up with my real father, Derek Reese. She stayed with him as his girlfriend."

John speaks up quickly, knowing Allison was a little lost for words "that is quite a story. I admit you do bear similar skin tone. What was your mother's name?"

"Helena" says Thomas "she was...Allison can you guess?"

"That's impossible" said Allison "anyway, how do you know she is not Allison (looking at Cameron). Why do you know so much about me and not her?"

"Allison, never say impossible, perhaps improbable in this case but never-the-less true.

Also, I know the difference between a cyborg and a human, especially you".

"Where is she now?" said Allison.

"I am sorry Ally, as she would call you, she died from typhoid a year before I left. The future became all the more difficult and fresh fruit was almost impossible to grow or find. I had nothing to stay there for, so I volunteered to come back here. Derek my father was sent away by John Connor in my time in 2027, I was only 7 years old and he never even knew I existed as my mom did not tell him.

Do you want to hear more or shall we make our way to the Zeira building and receive Catherine's hospitality?"

A while later, they all step out of the lift and are met by Ms Weaver's secretary who shows them all to her room and offers them a choice of drinks.

"NIce to meet you General Connor, Cameron Philips and Allison Young" says Catherine as her eyes glance finally at Allison, showing that she knows the difference.

Catherine continues "I know you have others in your group, another cyborg like Cameron perhaps. It appears that your mother is still alive, and other resistance members no doubt. They are welcome to join me. Thomas has not told you the awful truth of the future after you defeated Skynet in 2031. Please continue Thomas".

"OK. Unbeknown to the newly found free people, there was a dormant Skynet backup underground in the electron testing facility way down in Switzerland. Skynet had sealed and concealed the entrances. It was unable to do anything but occasionally sent a coltan terminator scout out to set up a satellite to find out if it could re-access new computers. The people from 2031 onwards, were beginning to use whatever skills they had, they utilised computers just like we do now, to make repetitive tasks more efficient for their much reduced population but without the internet, of course.

Eventually, in 2039 Skynet began to find a way to recoup its lost mineral supplies, such as coltan and computer parts, which it managed to reroute using it's even greater highly sophisticated intelligence.

We was at a loss this time because we was far away from that country and did not know Skynet was growing. John Connor was now 40 but showing his age because of some of his injuries and the stress of his past endeavors. He was still more than up for it but the tasks ahead were far too daunting.

He wants me to help you in this time to build the resources necessary to destroy the only remaining vestiges that Skynet can use in the event that it is destroyed. Fortunately there will never be a Skynet in our time who launches multiple nuclear missile strikes because the Soviet Union no longer exists and the likelihood of a worldwide apocalypse is very unlikely. Its new fight is from the future, where it exists in a reality that is already set.

Once Skynet feels satisfied with its potential, it could send back multiple weapons to attack us in this time but only when it realizes we are here because timelines constantly change each time you change them as a result of time travel and slowing down its development.

The only single timeline that Skynet is concerned about is the timeline before Skynet ever became aware. It knew that you existed in your past in 1984 the moment you was conceived. It has never travelled further back than that because nothing can be accomplished because nothing exists that can be utilized for its development. It needs micro technology and everything related to it for its own existence".

John replies "So you are saying, there is not any point in an army of cyborgs going back to 1900 because they need too much technology that is absent from that time?"

Thomas finally says "It is possible to send back to that time but only by accident, they cannot track back that far because of all the distortions. Sending something back 140 years from 2040 is far too complex, in fact almost impossible because of the distance in space and accuracy. The movement of the planets is way beyond any possible technology , due to its vastness. The effects of dark matter, the gravitational pulls of suns, black holes etc. You all need to realize that even our sun travels through space, as does everything else in space, even if we do not know it. Only 29.4 years has been accomplished successfully without error. All after that is like dropping a ballbearing in to a volcano - if the ball bearing's journey is straight down, you know it will sink to the bottom of the molten mass and eventually become part of the earth's metal core - it cannot be held together as a ball-bearing

Time travel means sending somebody millions and ultimately billions or trillions of miles through space to find the earth's position in 1900 as opposed to where it is now - the time span makes it almost accurately impossible".

-0-

**Next time**

**Sarah's plans for interesting money-making schemes without causing too much hassle or danger to human life are possibly no longer necessary.**

**Something really amazing occurs which makes quite an impression on Allison.**

**Here is the link to Cameron's song to John in the restaurant (you can highlight the line below, then use search for ' ', replace with '', yes to all, before copying it to your web browser. eg search for space replace with nothing.**

** www . youtube watch?v=JOImMPqWtRo&ob=av3e**

**or search youtube for 'Hero' & 'must be the music' &/or semi-final**

**The conversation between Thomas and his family and new friends, reveals the entire truth about what needs to be done, if it is possible at all.**

**John & Sarah need to pool all resources to help prepare themselves for any possible events.**

**They continue with their schooling and keep a look out for anything that is useful to them whilst still trying to lead a fairly normal life, which John finds is very distracting. Notoriety could be a good word to use.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to Nyrki, DarkKnight, Olischulu for taking the time to read my story. I try to keep it interesting and varied, whilst at the same time thinking about Summer Glau's POV on a story like this.**

**Thomas from 2040 continues his explanation to John, Cameron & Allison.**

"You seem to be quite knowledgeable about events in the future, why is that Thomas?" says John.

Thomas replies "This answer is quite lengthy but I will cut it short and leave out the history and technology.

One thing that Skynet does not possess is humanity, it will never think the way we do. Not even Cameron will ever grasp completely the unpredictability of humans, their constantly changing brain chemistry due to their environment, what they eat, drugs, etc etc. and why it is that adult humans know how to deal with unexpected remarks which is beyond the comprehension of children.

Skynet continued to make and program an artificial intelligent cyborg, after the theft of their development in 2024. They still went ahead and built another one, believing at that time that the other one was either destroyed or never used. The replacement cyborg thought for itself, resisted Skynet and joined John Connor in his time and was amazingly named Cameron Philipps but did not look like her, it looked like another of our resistance members and stayed with John Connor until she was destroyed in 2030 - she was modelled on a girl name Joanne.

In 2039 I was captured by the re-emerged Skynet, it improved my body's strength and regenerative processes and attached a chip like Cameron's but much smaller, compressed and attached to the main nervous system of my brain in key places, thus affecting everything I did. This chip is more advanced than Cameron's as it stores all of my brain processes too and could rebuild my brain if it was damaged by something like a bullet. In fact the wiring from my chip can be regrown in to my brain too.

Like Cameron, I fought against Skynet's will. This time it planned for my fightback or resistance to their base code but I fooled it and adjusted all of my responses to whatever it wanted from me, even committing murder of varying age groups. I had no choice because I was one of a kind and I knew that eventually I would be released from their complex to do their assumed bidding.

Once I was released, I was able to work for the benefit of mankind in the hope that my wrongs could be somehow compensated.

I joined General Connor but it was soon realised our fight against Skynet was not going our way as time really does tell. Especially when we did not have enough replacements for all the key things like healthy food and weapons.

John sent me back here in 2040 and I searched for an alliance, that alliance being Catherine Weaver.

I believe I have told you all you need to know for now John, I am essentially human".

Cameron adds "and your body is like Sarah's".

Cameron attempts to 'rat' him but is not successful.

Catherine is intrigued because she never envisaged this type of communication would be used by the cyborg and now realises that Thomas's ears are only hyper-sensitive but unable to receive 'rat' frequency.

Catherine has a few final things to say "John, now that we have met, I would like to stay in contact with you. I have given my phone number to Cameron and I would like to arrange a further meeting very soon. In the meantime, if you have any problems with anything, please let Thomas or myself know & we will help you".

"Is that correct Cameron?" says John. "Yes, she ratted her contact details to me".

John then says, "look, if you are constantly going to talk that way, I am going to get annoyed. Please stop it, in our culture it is considered rude to whisper or talk in a foreign language".

Thomas says "we can fix that for you too John" as he smiles, then says "in fact, my next task for self improvement" - he knew what 'ratted' meant by sheer deduction.

"Oh OK, I will leave it for now but we can talk about it next time we meet. I have friends and relations to get back to, bad timing unfortunately. Ms Weaver and Mr Reese? It has been more than intriguing to meet you, daunting and bad news I agree".

John goes over and shakes hands with Thomas and offers his hand to Catherine but she just smiles and stays where she stands and says "I will watch events".

Come on Ally & Cam, I believe we should go now".

On the way back to Jenny's house, John is intrigued to know what Allison meant by 'no way', so he asks her.

"Ally, do you want to tell me why you said 'no way' at Helena?"

Allison replies "John, I'm not sure what this means but if what Thomas refers to is my own Aunt, then we are kinda related".

Cameron says "If it is true, then it means you are related through your great nephew Thomas, that is all. Your law allows you to have sex and get married".

John looks over his shoulder at Allison and they smile, then looks at Cameron and says "Cam, for us there is still a problem, we don't have a law that allows cyborg/human/human 3 way unions.

And what's more, you are too close to the point, perhaps you should have replaced your last words 'have sex' with 'make love' or er... 'get intimate' because it sounds nicer ". He looks at Allison and Cameron alternating.

Cameron says "I will remember that, it is nicer for Allison and yourself to hear".

Allison in the back seat says "Yes Cam" (looks right) and says "John, you must change the law when you defeat Skynet in the future. Finally (looks left) she says "Also, Cam, you can call me Ally when we are alone like this, I would like that".

"Yes" they both say with a smile, knowing that a smile means a lot at the correct time.

Cameron says "I do not know if it is possible to analyse Thomas's DNA, so it is possible that you can not verify your genetic link without finding some kind of evidence another way. I will ask Thomas next time we meet".

When they get back to Jenny's house it is late and they have a quick chat before retiring for the night, leaving the twins to do their thing.

Sonia thinks that now is a good time to tell Cameron who Derek's girlfriend is.

The following morning everybody has a good time chatting but John is more interested in taking Jenny to one side and asks her if she would like to meet with Catherine Weaver & Thomas Reese Zeira Corp.

He also discussed the USAF liaisons and Sarah recommends to Jenny that she stay in touch, which she will.

Later, Sarah phones home to inform Derek that they are on their way.

When they get there the house is locked up and it is assumed by the twins that Jesse did not want to be there.

The usual routine takes place in preparation for the next day back at school. Ally/John share tonight.

Cameron does outside patrolling but has arranged to change places with Sonia at 2am

Sarah hears the door open and comes downstairs to see the shift change and stays up a while to find out if anything new has been discovered over the internet.

Sonia shares her information about the work of 'Flt Lt, Trevor Howard, USAF Inv. Dept., and his father's higher ranking status'.

Sarah says "now that things have changed, having had contact from Thomas and Catherine, I will contact Trevor at the USAF and try to 'work on him' tomorrow. I will phone Jenny and ask her to do the same, if she feels up to it. Perhaps she will need some help with her babysitting/teaching. We can't leave Connie there all the time - she needs more contact with us and the children can not be left with anybody that does not know their past - they are valuable to us".

Cameron also tells Sarah that Connie has fallen for Ricci.

Back at school, the students have seen the pictures of the Connor group in the newspapers and internet. In the corridor inside, they have pinned the pictures on the notice board for all to see. It is obvious that Sonia is not Sofia, which they all think is funny and she gets lots of attention again.

Very soon some guys mention the hottie in the Light mauve dress, followed by the olive green dress. Whereas conversely, the girls mention John and ask about the Mexican guy.

Suddenly some anxious jealousy creeps in as some girls try to wiggle in closer to John, pushing Cameron & Allison slightly apart. Cameron knows not to be rough and quickly processes that her John will remain 'her John' but she is quite intrigued by her jealousy and allows it to develop with 'blocks' to avoid irrational behaviour.

She wants to know how other girls, like Allison might feel - a not wholly unpleasant feeling, as she knows it is a natural reaction. She also wonders why jealousy has entered her emotional software in the first place and connects it to Skynet infiltration software. Something worth a little rat-a-tat later!

"Your mother! you're joking, that is one hell of a cougar, can I have her phone number" is one line that John hears. There is a lot of interest in Conny and similar words are spoken. One guy keeps a straight face and says to John "does she have a boyfriend, if not, does she need your permission to date guys like me? I will take her out!"

John replies "I give you permission to try but 911 will probably be sending an ambulance round to pick you up afterwards".

During the break, new students come up and the whole process is repeated again with new dialogues like "I think she is your girlfriend, not your mom" & "do you think I might stand a chance John?" & "John, next time you go out, please take me with you(flashing eyelids), I will always be here waiting for your invitation"(smile).

There is one lesson that stands out today, it is the cringeworthy sex relationship education, taken by a man: Mr Jackson.

They all have their books and diagrams and all the students that are in the final year attend in the assembley room. It is more of a school ending relationship education seminar.

Girls sit one side and boys the other.

"Can any of you lads tell me in front of the class that you have always treated the opposite sex courteously and patiently?"

Cameron stands up and says "Just recently, John has learnt to always be courteous and patient. I believe that most guys of our age find it difficult from the beginning but if they are real gentlemen they will realise this and face up to their inhibitions and peer pressures".

"Yes" says Allison, who stands up smiling.

Everybody stares and then the room is filled with rousy noise.

Mr Jackson is not the type to withstand rousiness and forcefully tells everybody to be quiet with the threat of the cooler.

"John Baum, Cameron and Allison seem to think you are the ideal guy. Do you agree with them?" says Mr Jackson

Students start again: "Yeah," "Yeah," "shut up or else" is heard as John stands up.

John thinks that now is the ideal time to be the General Connor that people tell them he is and speaks

"Everybody here, I want you to know that no matter what, I am your friend. There are those amongst us who want to be the leader of the pack, those who are happy to just stand by and try to fit in. (John purposefully looks from person to person trying not to be embarrassed). Personality, looks, appeal to the opposite sex. Those who do not do so well academically or at sports. We all have our role and there will be a time when all of those roles will be filled by you. It does not matter to me, you will always be my equal because as they say 'nobody is immune from disease, explosions, bullets, etc.'

If we have disagreements, I hope this will only be temporary.

You girls, please do not accept too little or think yourselves lesser mortals. Your role in life is not just mothering, child rearing, or many other things. I hope many of you will leave all that for quite a few years and do well for yourselves out there. Women were born just as brave as men and I hope one day you will prove it."

John looks at Sonia, then away and continues with his speech.

"Whoever you date, try to impress them but remember we all have failings, nobody can help that and one day your partner will find out about them. If they love you enough they will overlook them. So, keep your standards up and earn that respect.

Please bear this in mind and remember, even leaders of packs can not be ultimate leaders, they will always be lead by other leaders higher up.

Thank you all". John smiles then sits.

Silence then a quieter response, "wow", "that was nice", "i'm in love", "who is this guy, where did he come from?"

"Thank you Mr Baum, that was an impressive speech, I was only expecting a few words" Says Mr Jackson.

Lionel (brother of Lesley), says to Lesley "I want to come with you next time you visit Sonia's house, this guy is a guy worth knowing". She replies "If that is what you want, I'll ask Sonia".

Later in the afternoon when they arrive home, Allison decides it might be a good idea to visit Kacy instead of letting her 'stew' indoors.

"Come in" shouts Kacy.

When Allison finds Kacy, she is sitting on an armchair looking a little worse for wear. "Are you OK?" says Allison.

"I'm not sure, It feels a little painful beneath my stomach, I could be getting close to my time".

Allison agrees to get help and fetches John and Sarah. It looks like a trip to the hospital is necessary and Kacy says "John, I am glad you are coming, that is nice of you".

Cameron was upstairs with Sonia at the time, Cameron was using the hairdryer whilst Sonia showered. She heard noise outside but talking followed by tires on grit did not appear important to her as she trusted John to stay in contact with her if something happens.

In the hospital John sits outside whilst the ladies sit with Kacy at her birth. Occasionally Allison comes out to let him know what is happening. John gets a phone call from Cameron who wants to know where he is - he tells her and amazingly she tells him off "John, you know I must be with you at all times, what made you leave me here?"

John says "Sorry Cam, the heat of the moment made me forget. It is unforgivable of me and I realise I must not do things like this. Sorry Cam, one of my human failings. I need you Cam, please come to the hospital where Sarah was taken, 'maternity ward'. Kacy wants me here".

"Why John?"

"Er, I am not quite sure, probably because I am male. See you soon".

As school is the next day, the teens need to leave at 9pm. Kacy is sorry but 'that's life'. Sarah stays behind and they all go home in John's jeep.

At home in bed, a little inquisition takes place, for which John does not know the answer.

"I suggest you ask Allison or Kacy when you see them Cam, I went because Kacy asked for me. It could be a joke or it could be that male company is sometimes important to a woman? Anyway, her Trevor should be there by now".

"OK John, I understand". 'Hmnn' thinks John, 'is this end of the 'thank you for explaining'?'

Tuesday 13 Jan.

The next day at school, it has been announced that further singing/dancing/acting will take place after school. Riley has found John in the corridor after missing a day and says she will have another go at dancing tonight.

"Are you sure that is a wise Decision?" "Yes, I have got the necessary wraps and they should not bounce around any more" she says.

John says "why is it assumed that my thoughts are always on those things? I never talk about them?"

Riley says "so, one of the things that we girls use to attract guys like you never enter your thoughts?"

John says "Well, not exactly but..." "you don't like mine? You haven't even seen them yet." replies Riley.

Cameron's class in the science lab over-ran but now she is walking down the corridor towards John.

Riley is facing that way so she sees her and says "if you ever had a girlfriend, would the size of her breasts matter?"

Cameron heard that but instead of speaking, she listens to John's response.

He does not want to appear rude.

"No Riley, large breasts are fine but we must stop this talk now".

Cunningly Riley says "now that you know what they are like, I will see you at dance practice tonight. BYE".

She walks off smiling just as Cameron says, slightly loudly "JOHN, I HEARD THAT. ARE YOU STARING AT HER BREASTS?"

"No".

"DID SHE SHOW THEM TO YOU?"

"no".

Controlled jealousy coupled with lots of processing takes place & Cameron decides that John is probably telling the truth but she has decided not to tell him this.

That evening, dance/acting/singing practice takes place and John is compelled to wait in the corridor.

There are not any more mammary problems and Riley's long survivalist legs dance very well, which pleases her no end, much to the disappointment of Cameron.

John phones his mom and asks about Kacy and anything else that she might like to report.

"Kacy had a boy, it is fine and she is staying in overnight. She has asked you to come and visit her, along with the girls. I think she feels that we are part of her family. She does have parents and they will see her tomorrow".

The door to the gym is closed and the music loud - Cameron can not hear him speak.

"That's good mom, Cameron wants to know why Kacy wants me to see her. I find it difficult to explain this to her".

Sarah smiles and says "let's just say that it is a kind of prestige thing. You know, a younger boy interested in an older woman's welfare. She is not that old but she is not that young either. It is only her pride, not really connected to fancying the pants off of you but that being said... OK John, understand now?"

"Yeesssss OK, I still think that will be hard to explain. Does that makes me a bad leader?" says John jokingly.

Sarah says "See you later Mommy's boy - other Mommy's boy that is. Bye"

"Bye".

On the way to the hospital, with Sonia, Lesley, Lionel, Cameron in his jeep, along with Riley who said she loves babies. John is feeling a little awkward with Cameron. He hopes she is toying with his emotions and is not seriously jealous or insecure.

In the ward, Kacy is amazed by the number of teenagers at the bedside. "sshhhh, sleeping".

The girls take it in turns to look at the baby and the twins try very hard to emphasise but it is difficult.

After a while the baby is awake. The unusual words spoken like "who is a cute little boy then" for which it is obvious that a response will not be received.

Kacy is not bothered about revealing all and to the pleasure of Lionel, the baby is soon having a little meal.

Sarah, Allison, Riley & Lesley have great pleasure out of watching Cameron watching John, who in turn is trying not to watch anybody which is made worse when Lionel says to John "were you breast fed John? I was!"

Laughing and sshhhh take place.

"Why the hell does everybody think I am embarrassed about breasts? Cameron, I will talk to you later. The rest of you, I will deal with you all too, I do not have a problem with them, it is all in your silly minds. Come on guys, you know I am no different from the rest of you, I would prefer to keep my ladies assets 'in there', not 'out there', that is all" Says John as he points at Cameron's chest and then at the window, with a smile to show he is not mad.

He continues "Kacy, keep up the good work, your assets are a sight to behold for any man, and I am sure the same goes for the rest of you girls" he says as he looks at Riley.

Finally John says "I am surprised we have not heard from Catherine or Thomas". Then looks at Lionel and says "are you sporty like your sister?"

Lionel says "yes John and by the way Sarah (as he turns his head), John made a speech today to everybody in our year group, which is 3 classes. It was quite impressive, considering it was not scripted, I thought he was president Bush for one moment. Mind you, Bush has his speeches written for him".

The others concur as they look at Sarah who seems pretty proud to hear that.

John says to his mom "Can you come outside a moment, there is a small thing that I thought I should do".

"Sure John".

Outside John says "mom, if what Thomas says is impending, we need as much help as possible. I suggest we use people we know and trust to become better people and be with us all the way. I am going to see if Lionel is one such person, sometimes it helps to talk. Do you concur?"

Sarah replies "I think so, always worth a try but the more people we have the more exposed we are".

John says "yes, I have thought of that too and I believe we should think about our exposure a little more and ask for Catherine's help. I think it is a matter of time before someone out there, Kaliba, law enforcement, FBI etc latch on to our existence and the resultant outcome could be serious".

Of course Cameron & Sonia heard their conversation but John would realise this and the need for their presence is not necessary so they stay in the room with Kacy.

Back home, there is homework to do and Lionel offers to help Allison. She looks at him and smiles then says "OK, but you must promise not to be surprised because my standard is much lower than others. I have missed lots of school".

John asks Cameron for a phone number then gives Catherine & Thomas a call and arranges for a meeting at the weekend, expressing his fears about his little band of resistance fighters.

After that, John asks Sarah to phone Jenny, so that he can give her the lowdown.

Jenny says "Tuesday 13 January. Sarah how are things there - I am sitting in the bedroom with the children lying on the bed listening to them giving me answers to arithmetic - they are quite good".

"Hello Jenny, that is nice to hear. Always nice to talk to you, I hope you are well. You can let them know I am pleased with their homework, perhaps I will see them again soon. No doubt they will be expecting something exciting to happen but definitely not a theatre, meal and dance".

Jenny quickly passes on the message as he hears some noises in the background, then John says "future John would be quite jealous to know I am talking to you again - is that possible" he says in a smiling voice.

Jenny replies "The outing on Saturday was a fantastic night out, we should do it again next year, if we can" .

John's reply is "Too right. Jenny, as you probably guessed, I am looking for alliances and trying to make us all safer in the future, whatever it holds".

"Go ahead, tell me".

"OK Jenny, "We have put a hell of a lot on your shoulders. I want to help you, that is one of the reasons why I have called you. I need to tell you the story about my conversation with Catherine Weaver, plus other things".

"I'm listening".

"you probably already know that those USAF guys could be useful to us. Do you think you could contact him and show him your good side. I'm sure he will be impressed by your skills, not Skynet related of course. Butter him up with your story about adopting the responsibility for the children and how generous you are. Get him completely on your side.

Mom, Sarah to you, will be more than willing to use her awesome seductive skills to do the same job on his son, won't you mom?"

Jenny hears "yes John".

John continues "One other thing Jenny, I want to arrange a meeting this weekend with Catherine at the AI company, she has some awesome news for you. Admittedly not nice but you above any other living person will totally understand everything she has to tell you. Do you agree to come along?"

"If only because I am intrigued but I am always nervous about leaving the children and Connie and of course Ricci at home".

John says "perhaps Catherine has a creche or something, I will ask her, our locations are too distant, we need to talk about things like that. I will contact you soon Jenny, be safe and I apologise for bringing all this down on you".

Jenny says "well, I must admit it went from hardly anything to a hell of a lot but it is all in the mind and we must handle things accordingly without stressing. I'll wait for your call".

"Thank you Jenny, an admirable way to think. Within a day I will get back to you". click off the line.

John thinks about that last statement and will try to remember it as he gives the phone back to Sarah.

Cameron is on the computer, whilst Sonia is outside, having got the terminator rifle out of the house unseen by Lionel, until such time that John is satisfied Lionel is reliable. She left Lesley in her bedroom doing homework and made her promise to stay there and she will reward her later.

John stands next to Cameron, puts his hand on her shoulder and says "I am going to arrange a meeting with Mrs Weaver this weekend, if I can. I need to try and build some kind of safe place for everybody, we are all too exposed if what Thomas tells us is true".

Cameron says "you are right John, people bring danger but if the odds are high, we need need them all. Thomas might have some additional advice for us".

Cameron phones Catherine and hands her phone to John.

"Hello, John Connor here. Firstly we are working on some USAF guys to try and gain their confidence. Also we are looking for a few people that we can trust who will join us. My main concern is their safety. We are too exposed in our current locations and wondered if you had any solutions in mind. For this reason we would like to speak to you this weekend and bring with us a person that knows all about TDE and the entire workings behind it. Correction, we now have 2." as John looks at Cameron. (he forgot that memory was copied to Sonia too).

"That is fine by me John but you must only bring a few totally trustworthy people with you. Who is the person trained in TDE technology? Is she Jennifer Beal?"

"You guessed it but she has two 2024 children in her care."

"They would presumably be Dean and Marta, is Contessa with them too?"

"You guessed that quick, I guess I really can't hide much from you" said John.

"You can bring the people you mention, the children too. I have a daughter who will look after them. You can also bring your cyborg companions and your mother if she is alive. Is there anybody else from the future that stays with you, Kyle or Derek Reese, Derek's resistance group or a few others?"

"Yes Derek is here but Kyle and the others are dead. My mother Sarah is alive, which I believe you already knew anyway".

"Yes I did. OK, Saturday 3pm but you must let me know when you are approaching, I will open up the rear underground car park for you". Immediately the phone goes dead.

"She is good at saying goodbye isn't she?" John says to Cameron.

"John, there is something you need to know. She is not human". Cameron does not tell him the whole truth.

"I thought she was a little strange, the cyborg population seems to be growing".

Finally Cameron says "Sonia has agreed to come back in at 10pm to keep Lesley company and I will take her place, so I will leave it up to you what you do. I believe Lionel will go home soon".

"Oh, OK, thank you Cameron". He fancies giving her a kiss and says "you are one girl that I could never be tired of, you are always a source of excitement to me. As you know Allison looks like you and I have to admit my mind wanders to and fro from you both when we make love. I know I am a little frank but what is the point in keeping quiet about something that you probably know anyway."

"John, I process many thoughts on our relationship and it is logical that if we share your touch that you will always make comparisons or think about the best things that we offer you. I do not mind, I brought her here to make your happy, just so long as I can make you happy and satisfy my own personal love for you.

At the moment I am satisfied and I don't want you to worry".

"I hope so" says John.

Sarah hears all this but everybody is beyond caring now. In fact, Sarah realises that John loves Cameron and Allison but Cameron does not have what Allison has because she is human, it is sad. She also thinks that Allison must surely feel very safe having Cameron around, a kind of comfort for all. Odd but it seems to work... so far!

9.55 & Allison has left the bedroom with Lionel. She has not even given his attention a second though, she only has thoughts for John as she knows Cameron will be outside soon and she wants to speak to her.

Lionel leaves the house and at 10pm exactly, Sonia comes inside, having watched Lionel pass her undetected.

Allison follows Cameron out the door and says "Before we part for the night Cameron, I wanted to know if you ever thought about me and John together - tonight for instance?"

Cameron says "I always think about it but as John physically sees it, our bodies were built identical and he probably can't tell the difference".

"Do you know that for certain, has he ever told you?"

"No, I do not ask because in this scenario I am like a woman in some stories that I read where they would rather not know the truth. If I asked him, he might lie and I would detect it, which would be worse".

Allison says "I like you Cameron, you make me feel much safer living with John, just like Sonia does. If you are ever outside and you want to come in and upstairs, I would not mind. I don't believe John considers our relationship as 'two stars' to boast about, like some guys would think. Without asking him, I believe he would be nice to the pair of us and be glad that he has us both.

That is my make-believe idea"

"OK, I will process what you say and see what my emotional responses do each time I run the scenario. I must go now" says Cameron who gives Allison a hug.

Allison has also noticed that 'thank you for explaining' seems to have left the cyborg vocabulary and says "gnite", turns and walks back indoors and sees Sarah standing in the kitchen area, smiling. She says to Allison, "good luck, I will make some luck for myself soon, if I am lucky".

Allison thinks 'the USAF guy, no doubt'.

Wed 14 Jan

At school, having had Lesley as a passenger in John's jeep again (again!)

Once past the 'concealed WMD' scanner guy, the girls automatically head for the ladies room, whereas the guys only go when it is extremely necessary! In many cases anyway.

Cameron detects sounds of sadness coming from a cubicle and realises that it is Leyla, (the afro caribbean girl), so she 'rats' Sonia, knowing she was her last interest.

Sonia is not too bothered about being late for first lesson, as she predicts 50% that they will probably be relocating soon.

She says "Leyla, you sound sad. Please come out and I will talk to you. I know you like me and you spoke to me on Monday, so we could be friends".

Slowly, the door opens and out she comes.

"People are being nasty to me because, because I am bigger than them. I show them how good I am at things like science, singing and I am great at domestic science. Cooking if you prefer it.

Yet, despite this they are not nice to me". Leyla composes herself at this point, same old thing, she is used to it.

Sonia says "From now on you should stay with me at school, I am not cruel and I will stop others from being cruel to you

I like your hair, I will tidy it up for you, then we can go to our lessons".

4 minutes later, the door opens in to the corridor and they head for separate classrooms.

When lunchtime comes, Sonia sits with Lesley and they chat about Leyla. The rest of John's group sit at another table to give them some privacy, for now.

Eventually Leyla turns up, not looking too happy.

Sonia says "you must tell me who has upset you and I will ask them to stop".

Leyla won't say anything.

Lesley says "please Leyla, it has got to stop, we can help you".

"It is Austin & Jimmy, they don't seem to want to be liked by anybody, they pick on people who they know will keep quiet".

Lesley looks at Sonia for a moment, who looks back, then she says "this must stop, can't you show them some of your retribution Sonia?"

Sonia thinks quickly, or at least processes quickly and comes up with a better idea that will not blow her cover.

She says "Derek has promised to be here tonight for our first self defence and tactical class. Leyla, you should join our class and I will ask Miss Lopez to inform Austin & Jimmy to be 2 of our offence attackers. She will agree when I tell her what they are doing, plus some last minute evidence which you must provide now.

Leyla, please go with Lesley and prepare to pull those guys in to your trap in the corridor and I will do the rest. When you hear us coming, get Austin to attack you somehow."

3 minutes later, Austin(little & large) & Jimmy, come down the corridor, as Sonia told them that Leyla has left a picture of them on the notice board.

Sonia has fetched Miss Lopez, having told her that Leyla is being picked on again.

Lesley says to the guys "I told Leyla how you got your name little&large". Leyla laughs her head off.

Austin shouts at her. Lesley pushes him on to Leyla who grabs him and pulls him down shouting "get off me, get off me" and immediately produces her crocodile tears and shows distress whilst holding on to his arms.

Sonia/Miss Lopez turn the corner. There it is, the bully on Leyla who is fearing for her safety.

Jimmy stands taught. Miss Lopez shouts at him and asks him what he is playing at.

Eventually Leyla gets up & continues crying.

Sonia says "Miss Lopez, we are having our self defence class tonight, instead of punishing these 2, can they join our class? We need people like them."

"Whadya mean, the cow pulled me on top of her".

Oh yes, an amorous advance I suppose" says Miss Lopez.

"That's a good idea", says Lesley, "don't you Leyla?"

"sniffle, yes"

Miss Lopez says "If you attend this class, I will review you afterwards. Your choice, visit the principal with a view to expulsion or go to the class tonight. Why the girls want you there I dread to think".

Leyla looks nervous but hopes Sonia will be good to her word.

That evening, Riley has joined this class too and John wonders whether even she could be a useful asset. "We need more guys" is his main thought when all of a sudden in walk Austin & Jimmy.

Derek welcomes everybody and gives them a little talk. There are 20 in the class but not any more guys because they were not invited.

Sonia has explained to John/Allison that this is the Austin that upset herself and Lesley.

He has a plan. He will appear to be a useless wimp.

After a while Derek asks John to attack Allison with a cardboard kitchen roll center. (playing safe).

Allison feins timid girl and tries to get away from John, making some wimpering noises.

"No, that's no good. I will show you all what to do" says Derek.

He tells everyone how to move then asks Lesley to put it in to practice with Jimmy, who ends up flat on the mat.

"OK, now Austin, attack Sonia, don't hold back".

He lunges. Sonia is careful not to hurt or kill him and tries in vain to fend him off. He laughs.

"Now you Leyla, do your best. Come on Austin, same as before".

Leyla does not do very well because she is frightened.

Derek says "Allison, you did not do very well last time, give it another go with Austin, perhaps you will do better this time".

Austin lunges, Allison flings him over and 'accidentally on purpose' sticks her knee in to his pelvis and says "sorry, I tripped".

Austin eventually gets up and says "again, you lucky cow".

He lunges forward, and Allison throws him over her head, does a backward feet over head, straddles his arms and chops both shoulders, then shouts

"next time pick on someone your own size. I'll be watching you and so will my friends. We can all do that when we feel like it, we had you fooled. Sonia's turn next, surely you can flatten Miss Dubois?"

"I'll leave it for now, John needs a bit of practice" says Austin who sits on a chair and watches with Jimmy.

"Right" said Derek, "John, do you think you can take on a killing machine like Cameron?" he says jokingly.

John replies "I'll give it a go but I will probably need a high power rifle" he smiles.

He faces Cameron on the mat, she stares back at him and smiles. He runs forward, lunges at her and she lets him shove her backwards on to the mat. He grabs her neck and starts shaking her as she shouts "Ahhh no, get off me". John stays and stares down at her smiling.

Allison whispers to her "Cameron, smile at him and then say "ooh that was great, do it again, I enjoyed that".

She does, then lifts her knees, digs her feet in the ground and raises her midriff quickly and throws John over her, holding on to his wrists to make sure he does not fly too far behind her head.

Everybody laughs.

Derek smiles and then gets on with the other students, using Jimmy only once after he could not take any more. Austin declines, so only John is available for the next 2 hours, under Derek's supervision.

Cameron offers to be a partner with Riley but trying not to look 'freaked out' she quickly partners another girl.

Sonia partners Lesley, of course.

John works it so that Leyla is able to floor him and he shouts "ahh, you're too good for me". When he gets up he has a chat with her after being told her circumstances by Lesley. He says to her

"Hello Leyla, I believe you should stay in these classes, we will try to coax you through".

"John, are you saying you let me throw you?" John replies "Of course, I wouldn't let a chic get the better of me, er... on purpose anyway but I have to admit the twins are pretty hard to get the better of". (in this sense, twins means Camison (FOR (my new abbrev: FOR=for obvious reasons)).

Afterwards Lesley goes home with Lionel, for change of clothese etc. Riley has to go straight home too, her stepmother Kay (or Kate?) 'on orders'.

Upon arriving home, followed by Derek, the door is locked again. A note on the kitchen table says 'gone jogging - will be going out on a hot date later, see you soon'.

The evening is fairly normal in the John Connor cyborg world.

Sarah comes home and dolls herself up, then goes out.

At 10.34pm John gets a call from Sarah "Wed 14 Jan. John, I won't be home tonight, everything is fine, I am staying with the USAF guy from the party - business".

"What?"

"Our type of business John".

"Oh I see, let me know where you are, it is important that we know, just in case he ties you up or something" says John jokingly but serious.

"Leadenhall airforce base and if he ties me up it will be voluntary. I hope you are not considering bringing your friends here to rescue me. If fact, if you do, I will be extremely annoyed, if you really must know!"

"Oh, sure Mom, sense of humour too. You have changed. You do your thing, you deserve it. Shame Cameron is not there, she could tell me all about it".

"Very funny, I'm your mom, I deserve privacy".

"Call me, bye". "Bye".

John says to Derek, with all the others listening "mom is doing her thing on the airforce guy. Let's hope Jenny does not waste too much time , this could be the biggest breakthrough we have had if they work their ladylike charms properly.

I bet you 2 twins could do a great job too, given the opportunity".

This time Sonia speaks after getting the GA from Cameron "Yes, we have our full infiltration capabilities John".

Cameron says to Derek "Derek, there is something you need to know, I have not told John but I knew Jesse in the future".

"You knew Jesse! Why have you waited all this time to tell me?"

"Because I did not know she was here until Sonia told me. I share most of her memories and Jesse did not know this when they met".

"Well, that is very nice. I need to go now".

Cameron speaks to John so that Derek can hear "John, I was at her courtmartial".

"Really, that sounds serious. What did she do that warranted that?" says John as Derek looks shocked.

"She disobeyed orders in 2027, which resulted in events that would affect the war against Skynet. Future John from my time, was transporting a LMT frozen in a storage box, to his base, in order to try and persuade it to Join him. Jesse also ditched the USS Jimmy Carter, our only remaining deep sea submarine capable of helping us in our fight. It was a serious court martial."

John says "That is big news, we need to meet this Jesse. Cam, what made future me think that he could persuade a LMT to join him?"

"Because it was like me, working independant from the control of Skynet".

John says to Derek "did you know anything about this?" "No, I never even heard about that nuclear sub sinking. I knew what she was but I never heard that one".

John replies "we need to speak to her but you must not tell her. When you can, get her to go out with you somewhere secluded and we will meet you. Find out if she is AWOL or something".

"OK John, I will contact you". John wonders whether Derek has too many feelings for Jesse and will warn her".

Derek goes out the door (it is quite late now). "Cameron, see if you can follow him, we need to know who our friends are" says John.

"Yes John" Says Cameron who immediately says to Sonia "use the computer to track his GPS & phone, in case I lose him". (not ratted this time).

Off Goes Cameron - She did lose him as he drove through various traffic lights but with Sonia's help she is informed that he has stopped.

Cameron parks down the road and watches, all night and all morning.

Eventually Derek phones John and tells him that they will arrive at the top of Leighton hill, where there is a car park and cafeteria overlooking nice views.

Cameron needs to know that Jesse will not leave her vehicle and runs up from behind and jumps in the back.

Then she says "Derek, please drive to your rendevous destination and wait for John".

Jesse knows this is it. She looks frightened and says "what do you want Cameron?"

Cameron says "you know what I want, if you are not from that time I will know".

Cameron puts her hand on the back of Jesse's neck and checks her out. The results show extreme stress.

"Please drive. Derek, take her phone".

At this, Jesse fights to keep her phone so Cameron intervenes and grabs it.

She looks at the speed dials but does not recognise the numbers, except that there is more than one, including Derek's. She will wait until they meet John.

Upon arriving at Leighton hill, they park and wait for John - he has Allison with him, he wants her to know everything.

They join Jesse in her vehicle.

There is no doubt that if Cameron was not there, Jesse would have opened the door and made a run for it but it is possible that Cameron might shoot her without asking questions, thus knowing her guilt because of her dash.

The first thing that happens is, Cameron gets out the vehicle and then calls the other speed dial number. Amazingly Riley answers.

She immitates Jesse's voice and says "Hello Riley, how are things progressing?"

"Riley says, I am having difficulty getting between John and Cameron, John is very hard to seduce. I don't think I can do it".

Cameron says, still mimicking "it is the only way, try again tonight, Derek told me that Cameron will be away tonight".

Riley replies "Alright, if you think it is necessary but I hate it because I like him and don't want to hurt him".

Cameron continues "It is necessary, I have told you why".

Finally Riley says "OK" and Cameron clicks off the cellphone.

Cameron gets back in Jesse's vehicle and plays back voice for voice the exact words of her conversation with Riley.

Jesse says "She's lying, she made it all up just to make me guilty of something".

The rest of the conversation verifies all that is portrayed in the TSCC flashback between Cameron conducting her tribunal on Jesse for what is portrayed as the orders of John Connor, although we can not be sure that in her reality John is actually alive, although it is likely that he is and gave Cameron more responsibilities.

John says "I understand you sunk a nuclear sub containing a LMT for which you was not supposed to make an enemy of. What possessed you to do it?"

"Cameron is lying, she made it all up" is Jesse's reply.

Derek says "Come on John, I don't remember any of this" for which John replies "let us find out what Riley's versions of Jesse's actions are".

John goes outside & phones Riley on his own phone and says "what's the code?" "Wednesday 14 Jan John, it's late, what's up?"

John says "I'm alone tomorrow, let's have some time together tomorrow evening, unless you want to come around now?"

"Really John? this time of night! I'll be right round, see you in 20 minutes".

Derek is asked to drive Jesse's car whilst she is transferred to John's jeep with Cameron and Allison.

Allison has not said much, just listened. Everyone is fairly quiet on the way home.

32 minutes later they arrive outside the driveway, so that Riley will not see them. John walks the rest of the distance and sees Riley's bike against the wall outside.

He says "hi, sorry I had to buy a few things" and smiles as they walk inside.

Only Sonia is there and she stays quiet as John says to her "Cameron & Allison have gone to the bowling alley, why don't you join them". "But". "That's an order Sonia, go and meet them, they will be pleased to meet you".

"Won't Cameron be upset John?" "No, why should she, I want to be alone with Riley tonight, I am young after all".

Sonia is not sure what to make of that and makes her mind up to stay outside and guard John, seeing that everybody else is not there. Her thoughts and emotions are completely torn over this prospect. She is extremely upset for Cameron and does not know what to do for the best. John gives her his jeep keys and she gets in and drives a short distance only to find Derek/Allison/Jesse and of course Cameron.

Indoors John starts the inquisition

**Next time, Jenny is 'blown away' and wants l-Jenny to get 'hands on' experience ASAP but this will take a lot of persuading. She also believes Richard can make a valid contribution from an early age.**

**Some awful things happen as CW & TR begin their tracking. They also have an unusual ally, who came to be through unusual circumstances.**

**Sarah finds that it is possible to enjoy your job sometimes.**

**John has to be very firm with Cameron and asks Allison to help which is quite interesting. A new lodger joins them or not?**

**The team are enchanted by a munchkin.**

**Sonia likes Leyla and wants to see more of her, hoping that Lesley is 'game'.**

**What they don't expect is that the munchkin has a bigger friend.**


End file.
